Gambling With Ice and Fire
by Angel Bella Lovely
Summary: Kagome makes a bet with Inuyasha that she can thaw Sesshoumau's frosty attitude, but he soon realizes that he doesn't like her methods
1. Chapter 1: Striking a Deal

Kagome sat around the campfire, mindlessly thinking of the days events. It hadn't been very unusual, they fought a demon that had been plaguing a village, almost got a jewel shard but Naraku's saimyoushou picked it up and carried it off before they could retrieve it. They came across Sesshomaru later in the afternoon, so of course him and Inuyasha scrapped, Kagome ended up sitting Inuyasha to make him quit being a jerk, and eventually made camp in the forest.

She sighed and looked at the jar of jewel shards in her hand. The stupid things attracted far too much attention from demons, especially Naraku. In fact, the only demon she could think of that they had met that wasn't either after the shards or didn't already possess any shards, was Sesshomaru.

She wondered why the demon lord didn't go after the shards of the Jewel of Four Souls. She knew that he quested for power, that he desired to be the most powerful youkai in the lands. The jewel made demons many times more powerful than they already were, so why wouldn't the taiyoukai be after the jewel? With it he would be many times more powerful than any demon.

"Stupid stick-up-his-ass motherf..." Inuyasha mumbled as Sango bandaged his injuries from the battle with his brother.

"I wonder why he's so frosty? Even to Jaken, who's blindly served him all these years," Miroku mused.

SLAP.

Kagome looked to see the monk's hand twitching and a bright red hand print forming on his face. "Keep your hands to yourself, monk," Sango growled, turning back to Inuyasha.

"Some things never change," Shippo commented, sucking on a piece of candy.

"He is rather cold, isn't he?" Kagome continued like Miroku's perversion and Sango's intervention hadn't happened.

"He's always been cold, always will be cold. And he'll always be a jackass," Inuyasha muttered. Kagome kicked his bruised shin. "OW! What was that for?"

"Watch your language around Shippo," Kagome growled back. She stared at the fire awhile longer, then giggled. "I wonder if anyone could defrost him?"

"I'm sure a lovely lady could make him a little less aloof," Miroku smirked as a hand connected with his face.

"I wonder if anything short of cutting your hand off would stop you from caressing my rear?" Sango growled, her eye twitching with irritation.

"Miroku has a point, maybe a woman is just what he needs to break the ice around him," Kagome thought out loud.

Inuyasha snorted with contempt. "Oh, and you're going to be the one to do this?" he laughed. "You couldn't defrost an icicle in your 'micro-wave' thing."

"I could so!" Kagome fired back, insulted.

"I bet you that you couldn't so much as make him smile, let alone thaw that ice barrier he holds around his heart!"

"And I bet that I could not only thaw him, but make him fall in love!"

"You can't make a demon fall in love with you just by shaking that ass of yours!"

"Okay, fine, if I can make if fall in love with me, you owe me whatever I so chose for you to give me!" Kagome yelled with fury.

"So when you fail, I get anything I want from you?" he asked with a wicked grin.

"Deal."

"Fine."

Kagome lay down in her sleeping bag, turning her back to Inuyasha. "Goodnight everyone." Inuyasha jumped up into a tree with his back facing Kagome, prepared for watching out for demons.

Miroku, Sango, and Shippo all sat there staring at the two in awe. "Did that just happen?" Sango whispered to Miroku.

"Indeed, I think these next few months are going to be very interesting," he replied. Sango slapped him once again.

"Go to sleep, houshi."


	2. Chapter 2: First Attempt

Kagome awoke to the familiar sounds of a pissed off Inuyasha guarding his small, every moving territory.

"Why are you still hanging around here? I thought you ran scared after our little fight yesterday!" Inuyasha barked at his sibling.

"I did not run, I chose to leave while your bitch had you incapacitated so that I would not be forced to kill you," Sesshomaru replied with steel in his veins and ice in his glare.

"I am NOT his bitch!" stood, poising her arrow in his direction. Before she could even blink, her arrow was snapped in her fingers, and the dark lord was standing behind her, his hand on her throat.

"You try to harm me? Pathetic," he said into her ear. Just at that moment, Kagome remembered her deal with Inuyasha, so smiling and letting her words escape in a slight purr, she lifted her arms, one to caress the back of his neck and the other to stroke his muscular arm.

"Whoever says that I was aimed at you? Perhaps I had it aimed at Inuyasha, or even that delectable looking bird perched in the tree."

Inuyasha's jaw dropped in time with everyone else's, everyone that is except Sesshomaru. He simply released her neck and stepped away from her.

"You would not have had the arrow aimed at Inuyasha, if you had wished to stop him from attacking me you would have done whatever you do to make him kiss the ground," he stated before turning to leave. "Inuyasha, you and your party are traveling through my territory. I would expect you to adhere to my law, and if you don't, I will be back to deal the punishment."

He was gone in moments, everyone still staring after where he disappeared, and to Kagome. Finally, Inuyasha broke the silence.

"You... what do you think you were doing?" he screamed at her.

"Remember our little deal, Inuyasha? I just decided to get started breaking that ice," she glared back at him.

"But... acting like a whore? Jeez Kagome, I thought you had more decency than that!"

"I will use my methods however I damn well please!" she growled at him, her face turning red with fury.

"I will not stand by and watch you throw yourself at that asshole!"

"I was not throwing myself at him! I was using my feminine charms!"

With that, Inuyasha laughed. "Feminine charms! Ha! Like you have any of those!"

"Inuyasha?"

"What?"

"SIT." Kagome walked over to him, kicked him in the ribs, and ordered him to sit yet again.

"Bitch," could be heard coming from the figure laying face down in the dirt.

"Never. Ever. Call. Me. A. Bitch!" she growled, her hands clenching into tighter and tighter fists, her face getting redder and redder and the anger rose within her. Kagome could feel her miko powers rising for control, but she chose not to use them. No, she had a much more satisfying method of revenge.

She sat him into submission.

She sat him throughout breakfast.

She sat him the entire time they packed up camp.

And for good measure, she sat him ten times before they set off to continue their travels.

"Wow, Inuyasha must have really made Kagome mad!" Shippo exclaimed to Sango and Miroku as she sat him in mid-leap.

"I don't think any woman likes being called things like that, I guess this is just Kagome's way of dealing with her anger," Miroku speculated.

"Sometimes I wish I had some of those beads for you, houshi," Sango muttered, leaving a nice red welt on his face.

Kagome sighed. She was still thinking about what she had done to Sesshomaru. She didn't even know that she had that in her, to be able to attempt to seduce someone. Heck, she didn't know the first thing about seduction. She made a mental note to talk to Miroku later about what she should do to break the ice, but thought that maybe she wouldn't take everything he said completely seriously after hearing a loud slap from Sango.

They traveled for two hours before coming to the next village, still looking for leads as to where some more possible Shikon Jewel shards might be located. Upon seeing the village, Inuyasha stopped in his tracks.

"What's the matter Inuyasha?" asked Shippo, the first one to notice his hesitation.

"Why don't you guys go on ahead, I'll just wait here," he said, taking a seat in the nearest tree.

"What's gotten into him?" Sango asked aloud.

"It's possible that these villagers have somehow offended him in the past, or that he's had bad experiences here previously," Miroku speculated, only to get thumped on the head by an irritated hanyou.

"So I don't want to go to the village? What's the big deal?" he growled.

"The big deal is, is that you're usually the first one rushing in causing panic, just so you can find the damn shards!" Kagome nearly shouted at him. "Why are you so interested in them, anyways? It's not like you've ever tried to steal any from me, or even ask to use them!"

"Maybe I wanted to wait until the jewel was whole again before I tried to take it!" he countered, anger radiating off him.

"So that's it! I'm just a damn shard detector to you!" Kagome's eyes grew wide at the realization. It made sence to her, him brushing her off, him constantly running off to find Kikyo, his impatience when she was in her home time. "It's true, isn't it?" she demanded.

His ears flattened against his head. "It used to be," he said quietly. "But not anymore, Kagome. You're more to me than just a shard detector."

"Yeah, I'm the cheap copy until the real thing comes sauntering by," she spat at him with malice. His eyes widened, his nose twitching as he smelled the salt in her teary eyes, the sadness mixed in with her anger.

"No, Kagome, please, don't say those things," he begged her.

"I'm sick of it, Inuyasha. You're such a pig," she growled. On impulse, she reached out her hands to lay them on his chest and pushed away with all her strength, sending him sprawling on the ground.

"Kagome," he moaned.

"You stay here Inuyasha, and I'll go to the village. I bet Kikyo's nearby and that's why he wants to stay," she half pouted, half growled.

"No, Kagome," he sat up, grabbing at her ankle as she turned to leave. "That isn't why I want to stay."

"Well than what is it?" she demanded, turning on him with hate in her eyes.

"This village, this is where I lived with my mother," he said, his voice cracking a little. Kagome's face instantly softened. "Those villagers, they're the descendants of..."

"Shh, you don't need to say anymore, Inuyasha," she cooed, kneeling beside him. "I'm sorry for yelling at you."

"No, it's okay Kagome. Just, know that I do care about you, and not just because your the reincarnation of Kikyo."

Kagome nodded, still not believing him, and stood to leave. "We'll be back before sundown," she told him and headed for the village.

"Kagome-sama is scary when she's mad," Shippo whispered to Miroku.

"All women are, Shippo."

"This woman is going to be awfully quick if you don't move your hand, monk," Sango growled. In response, Miroku began sliding his hand up and down on her bottom, eliciting a painful response.

Sango stepped up her pace to catch up to Kagome, and Shippo looked at Miroku. "Why do you always do that if it makes her so angry?" he asked innocently.

He looked at the kit with a small smirk on his face. "Somethings are worth the pain, Shippo. When you're older you'll understand about the appeal of a woman's buttocks," he replied, his eyes on the object of his desire. Shippo groaned.

"If I ever grow up to be lecherous like you, I'll make sure that I stay away from women like Sango."

----------

The foursome got some curious looks as they entered the village, but none were filled with contempt due to a certain hanyou's absence. People were used to full fledged demons such as Shippo, and monks and demons slayers like Miroku and Sango. There were many were mostly curious as to Kagome's attire, although rumors of a strange new priestess had floated through their regions, so some simply assumed that this was the woman they had heard about.

The group was greeted by the headman of the village, a rather short, plump man with a balding head and a hearty grin. "Welcome to my village, travelers! Please, tell me how I can make your stay here welcome!"

Kagome smiled at him. "We're searching for demons who seem to possess unusual power, or have suddenly changed their habits in the past few months, or even the past year."

The man frowned with concentration. "Well, the only demon who I can think of who has seemingly changed in the past while is the lord of these regions. He used to despise humans, but recently he took a human child as his ward."

"You wouldn't be talking about Lord Sesshomaru, would you?" Miroku inquired.

"Why yes! I would!" the man grinned, his slightly yellowed teeth glowing at them. "You have heard of the Lord?"

"He is our companion's brother," Sango replied. The man eyed Shippo.

"He doesn't look like an Inuyoukai, he looks like a kitsune," he said cautiously, knowing full well the extent of the wrath of an insulted demon.

"Not me! Inuyasha!" Shippo nearly shouted, catching the attention of several nearby townspeople. One woman dropped the basket she was carrying, her mouth hanging open. Everyone who had heard the little fox demon stared at the group in shock.

"You... travel, with a hanyou?" the headmaster gaped at them. "Not just any hanyou, but Inuyasha?" his eyes widened.

"Yes," Kagome said, wondering what would happen, if these people would remember the poor little half breed who grew up in the village.

"He... is he here now?" a woman said, holding her child closer to her breast, looking around frantically.

"No, well, he's waiting outside the village," Kagome frowned. "Is something wrong?"

"That Inuyasha, he came here when I was a child," an old woman said, stepping out of the hut behind the headmaster. "He destroyed the village, said it was for vengeance he did. Said that it was payback for the pain our forefathers caused him and his mother he did. Said he would come back one day, that he wouldn't let the generations forget the pain caused by their ancestors. Ah, I remember it like it was yesterday, the terror he caused. Killed a few men he did. Nobody could take that terror down."

Kagome gasped. "Inuyasha did that?" The woman nodded.

"This village has always been warned of the creature known as Inuyasha, the hanyou bent on revenge," the headman shuddered.

"He's different now, he really is," Kagome tried to comfort the villagers who were looking around nervously.

"Yeah! Kagome here can make him stop being a jerk!" Shippo piped in. A young girl came over to them and looked at Shippo who was now standing in front of Kagome. She reached out and rubbed one of his little ears.

"They're so cute!" she giggled. "Daddy, can they stay with us?" she asked, turning her big brown eyes pleadingly on the headmaster.

The headman looked the group over. "Surely a demon slayer, a monk, and a priestess can control the hanyou," the girl begged. The man accepted, saying that if Inuyasha were to cause any trouble they would all be chased out of the village and hunted by their Lord.

All four bowed with gratitude, then excused themselves to go fetch Inuyasha. "One more thing," Kagome said loudly, catching the attention of all the villagers. "Please try not to stare at him, he's very sensitive, especially around here."

Half an hour later they had managed to convince the hanyou to come back to the village, if only for a hot meal and a comfortable place to sleep. The second they got within view of the homes, the headman's daughter ran to greet them. "Hi! I'm Aiko by the way!" she smiled up at Shippo, who was riding on Kagome's shoulder. He jumped down and presented his paw to her, introducing himself. She shook it happily, then smiled with glee as he reached into his kimono and pulled out a leaf, transforming it into a flower before handing it shyly to her.

"Why does Shippo have all the luck?" Miroku moaned.

"Perhaps it's because he doesn't grab at them," Sango retorted, grabbing his wrist before his hand could make contact with her rear.

----------

The headman showed them to their rooms and served them dinner, never letting Inuyasha from his sight which made the hanyou rather uncomfortable. He leaned in to Kagome and whispered, "why does he keep looking at me like that?"

Kagome shot him a dirty look. "Perhaps it was something that happened around sixty years ago here," she glared back at him. His eyes widened.

"I didn't think that they'd remember THAT."

"The headman's mother was a kid here when it happened," Kagome replied. Inuyasha looked up to the woman seated across the room from them and stood. The woman's eyes widened as he walked nearer to her. The headman's hand fell on the hilt of his sword, preparing to defend his mother.

Both were shocked, however, when the hanyou fell to his knees and took the womans hands, looking into her eyes with remorse in his own.

"I am terribly sorry for all the sorrow I caused in your life, and the fear you have lived through since you were a child,"Inuyasha said. He paused for a moment, took a deep breath, and continued, "but you see, that is exactly how my life here was. I was sad and constantly fearful. It was not an easy life, and if you people have come to know how my life was, then you have known how hard it is to be a hanyou."

The woman's eyes glazed over with confusion, then suddenly, it dawned on her. "You were that boy, Inu No Taisho and Izayoi's son." Inuyasha nodded. "Then, I am sorry for the pain our people put you through in your past."

Inuyasha glanced briefly back at Kagome and the others. "I've realized now that there are people in this world, however few, that accept hanyou's for who they are."

----------

Kagome was stunned by Inuyasha's apology at dinner. Usually he was such a jerk, but tonight, well, he was being so nice. She noticed the incense burning in every room of the house, and thought that that might have been making him a little loopy.

Kagome was sitting on the steps under the moonlight. The headman noticed her by herself and came to chat with her. "Beautiful night, isn't it?"

"It is," Kagome replied with a slight smile. Whenever the moon in the sky was that particular crescent shape, it always made her think of Sesshomaru, and she told him so.

"Ah, yes, the Lord. You know, even when it was said that he despised humans, he was never a cruel lord, unless of course, you angered him of inconvenienced him." Kagome smiled. "Ah, but after he found that girl, well, he changed, you know. I can't say just what it was about him, but it made him seem, different. Not his old self."

With that comment, Kagome was listening intently. "Rin? She's a nice little girl. I wonder sometimes how she met Sesshomaru, or even why he decided to let her stay around."

"Oh, is that the girl's name? I never knew," the headman laughed. "It seems to me that I saw her first around the time that his arm was cut off in battle."

"Yeah," Kagome thought about it, then frowned. "I don't know why Inuyasha had to show off and cut his arm off. It just wasn't nice."

The headman jumped backwards three feet. "Inuyasha did that?" he demanded, a slight panic look in his eyes.

"Yes, they were fighting over that sword that Inuyasha has at his side, Tessaiga. The only problem was that Sesshomaru couldn't touch it because he was all demon, so Inuyasha took it, and they fought."

"So this, Inuyasha, must be a very strong hanyou indeed to stand up to Lord Sesshomaru," the headman speculated.

"Yes he is, in fact, after he learned one technique, he would have killed Sesshomaru if it hadn't been for Tensaiga, which saved him from the attack," Kagome said, remembering the fierce battle.

The headman just sat in silence for awhile, so long in fact that it started to make Kagome uncomfortable.

"Do you think that anyone could break his frosty attitude?" she blurted out. He stared at her with wide eyes.

"Well, Rin seemed to help him, so maybe she is the key to his heart?" he smirked. "But I thought you were with his sibling, Inuyasha."

"I think I'm going to bed now, goodnight," She turned and headed for her room, a plan brewing in her mind for the days to come.


	3. Chapter 3: Perfumed Confessions

Kagome awoke to see Inuyasha sitting, grinning at her. "What do you want?" she moaned, sitting up.

"I won the bet," he smirked.

"No you didn't," she sighed as she started to roll up her sleeping bag.

"What, yes I did! You didn't make him less frosty yesterday!" he nearly yelled at her. She looked up at him and laughed. "What's so funny?"

"We didn't specify a TIME period as to how long, or how many attempts you get, so therefore, we're still in the game buddy," she grinned, poking him in the chest to get her point across.

"ONE attempt! It was implied that you would only have ONE try!" he shouted, his cheeks burning red with embarrassment of having being proven wrong and anger that he had been wrong.

"Implied doesn't mean anything, it's the actual deal, and nothing in the actual deal states that I only had one try," she picked up her backpack and rummaged through, looking for her hairbrush. "So, until I give up and say that I cannot make him thaw, the game is still on."

"Feh," he muttered and walked out the door, following his nose to the smells of breakfast.

"Oh, Inuyasha?" she called after him, remembering her plans from the previous night. He poked his head back inside for a moment. "I need to run back to my time for a few days, I have a test coming up, and we're almost out of ramen," she added in. All is fair in this war, she thought to herself as she fought to hide a smirk.

"Feh," he muttered again and leaped off before she could make any more requests, or perhaps mutter that three letter word he hated so much.

Kagome finally burst into a grin when he left. Sango looked over at her, "my, you're happy this morning."

Unable to take holding in her devious plans, she looked at Sango and replied, "Inuyasha is going to help me win this bet even if he doesn't know it," she grinned, then elaborated on her plans, with Kirara standing at the door to keep watch for Inuyasha, of course. No need to have him overhear her.

Sango giggled as Kagome told her the plan, but looked confused as to what one of the objects she wanted to pick up from the future was. "Fair... ah.... moan?" she said slowly, trying out the unfamiliar word.

Kagome laughed. "All beings, like cats, dogs, even humans, have these little chemicals that their bodies produce and give off called pheromones. The scent can be picked up my members of the opposite sex, and makes them more attractive than they normally would. So, to attract a dog, you use dog pheromones, and since it's a male dog I'm trying to attract, I'll have to find the pheromones of a bitch in heat."

Sango stared blankly for a second, waiting for all the new information to sink in. "So there pheromones, you said that there were some for people, too?"

Kagome smiled. "I've heard of people advertising them in sex shops, although I've never actually been in one. They mix the human pheromones with little bottles of perfume, so the man thinks you tried a new perfume, and ends up finding you completely irresistible, or at least, less resistible than he used to."

Sango blushed. "Do you think you could get me some?"

"Of course!" Kagome smiled. "Planning on attracting a certain monk?"

"No!" Sango yelped, turning all shades of red. "I was, maybe, thinking that, well, yeah."

Kagome smiled. "I'll have some for you when I get back. Actually, I was wondering if I could borrow Kirara to get back, just me, while you guys just stay here, or keep traveling. I know that she'll be able to find you again, and it's so much faster to fly."

Kirara mewed her consent and looked to Sango, who simply nodded. "After breakfast then, I'll head home and go shopping for some goods," Kagome winked at the demon slayer, who continued to turn shades of red.

----------

Inuyasha seemed to be thankful that he didn't have to be the one to run back and forth to bring her to her own time, but he couldn't stand the thought of not being able to go and drag her back when she was getting a little too comfortable. Alas, much to Kagome's ire, Inuyasha ended up coming along with them.

"At least you'll have some company when I'm in my own time," she said to Kirara as she climbed on the now transformed neko and waved to her friends, sending a private wink to Sango, who blushed all over again.

"What was that about?" Inuyasha said with disinterest as they took off into the sky.

"What? Oh, Sango just asked to try some feminine products from my time," she smiled. She knew she wasn't lying because it was perfume, which was something for girls, so Inuyasha shouldn't catch on just yet.

"Oh kami, not those stupid tam-pon things again!" Inuyasha wailed. Kagome broke into laughter.

"I never told you that they were edible," she giggled, recalling a time when she had a box of tampons in her backpack along with all the food, and he snuck into her bag for a midnight snack but ended up with a belly full of cotton.

The rest of the ride was fairly uneventful, Kirara went at a pace comfortable to her, Inuyasha sat on her rear and watched the scenery go by, waiting impatiently for a demon to attack, or something, so he wouldn't be so bored, and Kagome took a little nap. When they arrived at the well, Inuyasha tried to go back with her, but she sat him a few times to get the point across that he should stay there.

"I'm dragging your butt back here in two days if you're not back!" he yelled after her.

"Two days is all I'll need," she said to herself as the radiant blue lights surrounded her.

The moment Kagome walked in the door at her home in present day Tokyo, she greeted her mom and raced for the bathroom for a nice hot bath, but not before asking her mother if they could go shopping afterwards.

She agreed, of course.

The first shop Kagome raided was the nearest smut shop for the pheromone infused perfume for Sango. She had a little difficulty explaining to her mom that it was for Sango, not her, but she thought that after half an hour she finally got the point across.

The second shop she went to was a candy store for some goodies for Shippo. Then, walking down the street window shopping, she saw the most adorable princess doll in the window of one of the toy stores. "Mom?" she asked, opening her eyes wide and preparing to go into a pout like she did when she was little. "Can I get that for this little orphan girl I know back in the feudal era?"

Her mom looked at her, smiled, and said, "of course!"

Kagome clapped her hands with glee. Part of her plan was now in action. As she walked down the street, she also noticed a wonderful little girl's kimono that cost way too much, but she decided to go into the store anyways. She noticed a rack of the wonderful material and went over to it, flipping through the various colors until she came upon a white one with purple and silver flowers embroidered on the sleeves and around the bottom hem. Out of habit rather than curiosity, she looked at the tag, and grinned when she realized that it was within her price range.

Immediately she took the article of clothing to the counter. Her mother gave her a strange look until she promised to explain about the little girl a little later, somewhere more private.

Along with the dress, she also bought a little wooden car for Shippo, since he had become something of a son to her and she felt bad buying so many things for someone she hardly knew and only candy for her own ward. She had almost forgotten the ramen for Inuyasha, but remembered minutes before they left the supermarket while they shopped for groceries. Kagome hummed happily to herself as they loaded the days shopping into the car and headed back to the shrine.

"So," he mother said casually as they got into the car. "Tell me about this girl."

"Her name is Rin. I don't really know what happened to her or how she came to be with him, but she's been with Sesshomaru for quite awhile now, and I only ever see her in the same old outfit. I don't think he is bad to her, but I don't think he gives her much other than food and protection, and I think she would like these," Kagome said, telling the truth. She did think that Rin should get something nice.

When they got home, Kagome ran upstairs to organize the items she was bringing back to the feudal era. Looking over everything, she decided that Shippo didn't need all the candy she had brought, so she moved a couple chocolate bars over to the pile for Rin.

"There," she said to herself when she was finally satisfied. She had candy and the toy in a separate bag for Shippo, the kimono and doll off to the side to put in her backpack the next day, and the little vial of perfume for Sango tucked away in one of the pouches of her backpack since it didn't take up much room. The next day after school she would finally have the last ingredient of her plan, the vial of canine pheromones that she would 'borrow' from the science lab. And of course, her mother would pack her lunches and re-fill her first-aid kit.

She sat through dinner, telling her family about her adventures in the past, bugging Souta about girls, and trying to convince her grandfather that his 'antiques' were trash. She had a quick shower then snuggled into her clean, comfortable bed, thinking about how her plan would work perfectly.

Her alarm buzzed, telling her it was time to awaken and get dressed for school. She yawned, and mentally prepared her story and actions to achieve her last goal while in Tokyo.

By the time the bell rang at the end of the day, Kagome was so nervous she could barely think. She walked up to the chemistry teacher and asked him if she could stay for a little while to collect her homework. He of course, agreed to this, but excused himself temporarily to go to the staff room and refresh his coffee, which he did every day after class.

This was her opportunity. She watched him through the door as he walked down the hallway. She gave herself five minutes to look through his cupboards of vials, all labeled with tiny print. Luckily, she had been here the day they were discussing pheromones and had stayed after class to help put things away while she discussed possible make-up work for all the lessons she had missed.

Kagome smiled as her fingers landed on the glass beaker that contained the canine pheromone. Double checking the label to make sure it was the right one, she quickly slipped the vial into her backpack and closed the cupboard door. Moments later, her teacher walked in the door. He looked her over, her flushed face, her slightly sweaty brow, and told her to go home because she still looked ill.

She thanked him and ran out the door, bumping right into Ayumi and Eri. "Hi Kagome!" and "You don't look so well," were the first words directed at her.

"Yeah, I think I'm going to be sick," she said, putting her hand over her mouth, her eyes widening. "I'm going home."

"That's too bad," Ayumi said, rubbing her hand on Kagome's back. "I guess you came back too soon."

"Sorry, I have to run," Kagome replied, not really wanting to talk to them. She turned to run down the hallway, waved back at her old friends, and took off for the shrine.

"The poor girl," Eri said to Ayumi as they watched Kagome run away.

-----------

Kagome got home and immediately went to her room to remove some of the books from her backpack and replace them with the items she had bought the previous day. She had decided to head back to the feudal era the first thing the next morning.

She had just finished putting everything in her backpack when the window slid open. "Are you coming back yet?" Inuyasha asked her with a slightly annoyed tone to his voice. Kagome smiled.

"I want to have supper here tonight, then go back in the morning," she replied, knowing full well that he would want to go back as soon as possible. Finally, step two was in the works: testing the product.

She cracked open the little vial of pheromones in her skirt pocket and let a drop soak into the material. She smiled sweetly at Inuyasha and asked, "stay for supper, at least?"

She knew that he wouldn't forgo her moms cooking, and she guessed that by the time dinner was over with, he would be going nuts.

If the pheromones worked on demons, or at least, half demons.

She decided to study before dinner, so in their usual routine, Kagome sat at her desk while Inuyasha stared at her back from her bed. She glanced back at him halfway through her chapter to see his eyes glazed over, his mouth slightly open. "Inuyasha? Are you alright?" she asked.

"I think," he said, looking at her. "Ah, I'm fine," he shook his head and rubbed his nose.

"What's wrong?"

"I smell," he sniffed. "I don't know, but it's interesting." He slowly got up off the bed and sniffed around the room, then headed for Kagome. When he neared her, she saw a flash of red in his eyes as his lips curved into a slight smile. As he neared her, he sniffed lower, until he was almost level with....

"SIT!" Kagome shouted at him.

"HEY! What'd you do that for?" he yelled as her as soon as he could regain his composure.

"You were about to sniff my... AH!" she yelled back at him. His face paled.

"I was... following the smell."

Kagome slapped him and turned to leave the room. "Don't think that I'm through with you yet," she glared at him. In the bathroom, she couldn't hold back any longer. She laughed. "Well, at least he was attracted to it. That's a good thing. So in theory, it should work on Sesshomaru."

She undressed and showered, making sure to lather away where the pheromone might have soaked through to her skin, and dressed in fresh, clean clothes before she made sure that the vial was plugged tight before she left the bathroom. Inuyasha was downstairs, playing a video game with Souta, so she was clear to stash the precious bottle away in her backpack.

"Mom," she said, walking down the stairs in her regular, everyday clothes. "We're going to go back to the feudal era tomorrow morning, so do you think you could save any leftovers for us?" she asked.

"Of course dear, and don't forget the food we already packed," her mom smiled at her, placing several dishes onto the table. "Dinner's ready!"

The rest of the night wasn't very eventful, Inuyasha got sat for bothering Buyo, Kagome studied before bed, and her mom refrained from playing with Inuyasha's ears. All in all, it was an average night at the Higurashi home.

The send off wasn't anything exciting, either. They waved goodbye moments before leaping down the well to five hundred years in the past.

As they walked into Kaede's village, Kagome was greeted enthusiastically by Shippo. Kagome laughed and handed him his bag of candy, but he got a confused look as he pulled out the wooden car toy. "What's this?"

"Well, in my time, that's called a car. This is just a small carving that represents one. The real ones are big enough for people to ride in, up to six people per car."

"Is it like your bicycle?" he asked.

"Kind of, they're both used for transportation, but the car you don't have to pedal."

Sango and Miroku were crouched down beside Shippo examining the new toy. "Sango, I have some perfume for you, too. You put on a couple drops on your wrist and it makes you smell nice," Kagome said to her with a wink. Sango turned red and accepted the perfume, dabbing a little on her wrist. She held it out for Miroku to smell.

"What do you think?" she asked him, but his only response wasn't the one she was looking for.

SLAP!

Kagome laughed, and looked around. "Where'd Inuyasha go?"

"I don't think he liked the smell of Sango's perfume," Shippo piped up. "As soon as she put some on her wrist, he got this funny look on his face and walked away."

Kagome and Sango smiled to each other. They were the only ones who knew the secrets of the perfume, and guessed that since Inuyasha was part human, it must have affected him as well.

Kagome found him sitting in a tree off at the other side of town, gazing out into the distance. Kagome called up to him, but he ignored her, twice. "Sit," she said under her breathe and waited for him to crash to the ground. "Never ignore me when I know damn well that you can hear me," she growled at him.

"Well? What did you want?" he growled back at her.

"I need to find Rin," she said to him.

"No."

"But I have something to give her!" she whined, reaching into her bag and pulling out he princess doll. Inuyasha examined it, then scoffed.

"She doesn't need it."

"Every little girl needs a doll!"

"Feh."

"Inuyasha.... S," she started to say before she was cut off.

"Okay! I'll find her for ya, yeesh!"

Kagome smiled and pecked his cheek, and headed back to town to tell the others that it was time to go. Kagome was frustrated, however, when she returned to the village to find Miroku talking to a traveler who was telling of a demon who plagued his village. From what she overheard, the demon had once used to happily accept an animal sacrifice once a month, but now was demanding more and more food, and if he wasn't satisfied with their offerings, he would take one of the villagers

And lately, the demon wasn't satisfied very often.

Kagome sighed, knowing that her plans were going to be put off to go chase this demon. They group set out for the man's village that afternoon after filling in the rest of their companions as to what was happening. Kagome kept stealing glances back at Sango and Miroku, wondering if that perfume worked. She noticed that Inuyasha was staying far ahead of the rest and wondered if it had anything to do with his sudden disappearance earlier that day.

She hung back, waiting for Sango to catch up, and asked to try a little of the perfume, which Sango immediately lent to her. After applying a couple drops to her wrist, she ran to catch up to Inuyasha.

"Why are you in such a hurry?" she asked him. She saw his nose twitch, a sure sign that he had smelled the lightly scented perfume, and almost laughed as his eyes slightly glazed over when he looked at her.

"I just want to get there before dark," he muttered, picking up speed. Kagome grinned behind his back, quickening her pace to again match his.

"We'll still have to camp out for the night," she told him, curling her arm around his and slowing her pace. He resisted for a moment, but slowed along with her.

"Did you use some of Sango's perfume?" he asked bluntly, his features still expressionless.

"I wanted to try it out," she replied, smiling. "Do you like it?"

"It smells funny," he told her, staring off into the distance. Kagome pouted until he finally looked at her. He stopped them in their tracks, lifted her chin with one clawed finger, and quietly told her, "it's not bad, just, different."

Kagome could feel his breath mingle with hers in the cooling air. She blushed as images of him bending down to kiss her blurred through her mind, a slight smile playing on her lips. Her neck tingled, wanting his lips to caress them like in so many romance novels she had read. By Kami, she wanted him, and bad.

"How come it doesn't work that good for me?" Sango muttered under her breathe to Kagome as her and Miroku caught up to them. That was it, the familiar feminine voice broke her spell and she broke away from Inuyasha's gaze.

"It's uh, maybe because he's part demon?" she replied.

"What are you girls talking about? The perfume?" Miroku wondered, confused.

"Yeah! In my time, perfume is supposed to make guys, um, more attracted to you!" Kagome blurt out. Miroku got a silly look on his face as he reached behind Sango.

"Don't worry my dear, you don't need any scented water to attract me to you," he said into her ear, sending chills down her back. Moments later, she elbowed him in the ribs.

"But I may need something to keep your hands off my rear," she growled at him. Kagome was too busy watching the monk and demon slayer to notice the thoughts that were running through Inuyasha's emotions.

Perfume is supposed to make guys more attracted to you, eh? Well, I don't see my baka half-brother here, and she wouldn't be after Miroku, so she must have been trying to attract me. He ran his tongue over his suddenly dry lips, staring at Kagome like she was a tasty bowel of ramen. Maybe camping in the wilderness won't be so bad tonight.

He quickly turned around, hiding his expression from everyone who hadn't already noticed. "Let's go," he said, stepping back into his usual gait. "There's a stream not too far from here, let's camp there."

"I wonder what's up with him?" Shippo whispered to Kirara, who only mewed and cocked her head in response. "I think I'll keep an eye on him tonight."

They set up camp as usual, only Shippo noticing the glances that Inuyasha kept sending Kagome's way. He was still too young to understand what was said behind some of those looks, but he assumed that the hanyou was planning on doing something to Kagome that night, and he planned on stopping it.

Much later, after Sango and Miroku had both drifted off to sleep, the kit was fighting the weariness in his own body. He could see Inuyasha up in a tree, watching Kagome like a hawk. He closed his eyes for a moment, but when he opened then, he was startled to see golden eyes staring back at him from a few inches away.

"What do you think you're doing?" Inuyasha asked the pup.

"Nothing!" Shippo replied.

"You're lying, I can smell it. Quit watching me and go to sleep." He thumped the kit on the head, driving his point home. The kit grumbled and turned away, then muttered, "if you hurt Kagome, I'll make sure you pay."

Inuyasha smirked and went over to where Kagome was trying to fall asleep. He knelt down, admiring how her hair shone in the firelight. "Hey Kagome," he whispered, shaking her shoulder gently. "Are you awake?"

He knew she was. He could tell when the girl was sleeping from many night watching over her. "Yes," she said, rolling over to look at him.

"Come for a walk with me," he whispered back, holding his hand out to help her up. She took his hand and stood, looking into his eyes.

"Where are we going?" she asked him.

"Just for a walk."

"Why?" she asked, her curiosity piqued. His nose twitched faintly, and she guessed that the perfume still hadn't worn off.

"Because it's a nice night out," was all that he would tell her. She acquiesced and followed him away from the campsite, downstream of the little creek. The sliver of the waning moon shone through the treetops, illuminating the ground just enough that Kagome could see well enough to not trip over the various woodland debris that lay scattered over their path.

They stopped at a little grassy clearing at the edge of the creek. Inuyasha took off his Hitoe and laid it out on the lightly dampened grass, motioning for Kagome to join him. She sat and leaned back, looking up at the night sky.

"It's so beautiful," she sighed, a soft smile playing on her lips.

"Yes it is. You sure don't see it like this in your time," he smiled at her.

"It's all the city lights," she said off-handedly. "If you go out into the country where there's less pollution and lights, then you can see the stars almost like this."

"But it isn't like this. These times are different, there's less stink, less people," Inuyasha rambled.

"More demons, more.... things, trying to kill me and my friends," Kagome frowned. "When all this is over, and Naraku's dead, what will happen?"

"I imagine that things will somewhat go back to like they used to be, before Naraku."

Kagome looked down at the cloth beneath her. "I wasn't here back then, I don't know what it's like."

He softly lifted her chin in one clawed hand. "Then I'll show you," he whispered, touching his lips softly to hers.

She knew faintly what a kiss would be like, she had kissed him softly like this before, after all. What she didn't expect, however, was the flood of images that played more and more vividly behind her closed eyelids as the kiss deepened.

--

'Momma? What's a half-breed?' The tears glistened down her soft cheeks as she cried for her only child.

--

'Get out of this village, you stinking hanyou!' a villager shouted, throwing a spear at him as he darted into the trees, a stolen ham between his clawed hands. 'Your kind isn't welcome here!'

The boy cried, taking refuge in a nearby tree, close enough to watch the villagers without being seen. 'Momma,' he whispered, his eyes burning from the salty teardrops.

--

'You're a disgrace to this family, a burden,' the boy's older brother stared coldly down at him. 'Do not come looking for help from me or I will kill you.' The boy turned away, sadly heading back into the forest. 'Our father was a fool to have taken a human as his mate.'

--

He was running, older now, but fell over a stump hidden beneath the foliage. He turned in time to see the demon approaching as he held his hand over his bleeding arm, a wound the demon had inflicted. As the youkai drew nearer, the boy blindly swiped out at the demon, sending bloody blades out and slicing the beast into pieces.

--

There was a woman, carrying the jewel he sought after. He was human now, but soon he would be able to take it. The woman sensed his presence in the woods, stopped, and turned his way before speaking. 'Show yourself,' she simply said.

--

He sat in a field of tall grass with the woman, just sitting there. He was a hanyou again, and she wasn't running from him or trying to hurt him. He liked the feeling of being accepted enough to be able to be with the woman.

--

'You want me to use the jewel to become human?' the boy asked the woman. She nodded. 'Meet me here tomorrow, and I'll have the jewel.'

--

'Die! Inuyasha!'

'Ki.. Kikyo..."

--

'Kikyo, Kikyo, Kikyo! I don't care what everyone says, I am NOT Kikyo!'

'If you're not Kikyo then how come you smell so...' he sniffs the air. '... You're not her.'

'That's what I've been trying to tell you! My name is Kagome! Ka. Go. Me!'

--

Poison racked his body, but he felt comfort in the warmth beneath his head. 'Kagome,' his lips formed as he fought unconsciousness. 'Why were you crying?'

--

He watched the woman on stage, looking gorgeous even though she was pretending to be someone she wasn't, and that other jerk was getting to close to her for his comfort. But to his relief, a demon burst through the stage. Taking it as his cue to enter, he quickly dispersed the demon, and somehow got challenged to a duel by a guy with a really wimpy looking sword, but Kagome stopped him and went with him.

He was never so happy as he was when she was with him.

--

Kagome came to her senses again. Inuyasha reached up and wiped the tears off her cheeks. "Oh Inuyasha," she whispered, embracing him. "You've had such a hard life."

"But I have you, Kagome."

She turned away from him then. "But you love Kikyo. I felt it, your love for her."

"Then didn't you feel my love for you?" he asked, his expression pained. "I love you, Kagome. You, who accepts me for who I am, not what the jewel could make me. You never asked to change me."

"But I'm just a copy of her, and you always leave to find her when she's around, leaving me," she started to cry again.

"Please Kagome, no, don't cry," he groaned, turning her face to look him in the eyes. "I go to her because I owe it to her to avenge her. I did love her, a part of me still does, but she isn't the one I want to be with."

Kagome stood, taking one last look at the sliver of moon. "I'm tired, let's go to sleep." 


	4. Chapter 4: Key to His Heart

Sesshomaru looked down at the charred remains of a campfire, the ground still emanating a faint warmth from the fire that had been smothered not long ago. He could see flattened areas of grass where figures had laid prone for many hours, sleeping. Most of all, he could smell his half-brother and his companions scents.

On impulse, the taiyoukai followed the scent away from the camp and towards a nearby village.

"Master Sesshomaru! You're not following that hanyou, are you?" Jaken questioned, running to catch up to his lord. Sesshomaru stopped his stride and stared back at the kappa, who shrunk back at his lord's stare. "I apologize, master Sesshomaru, please, don't hurt me!"

With that, the inuyoukai resumed walking, following the scents of his hanyou sibling and the miko ningen, the two scents he could most easily identify. There was also a strange, lightly flowered scent in the air that made his nose tickle. He didn't like it, and wanted to find out what was causing it.

"Master Sesshomaru!" Rin shouted, running up to his side. "I picked these for you!" The girl offered the demon a lovely bouquet of flowers she had been picking as the walked.

"Thank you, Rin," he simply said, taking the flowers into his clawed hand. "Go walk with Ah-Un."

"Yes master Sesshomaru!" she smiled, running back past Jaken to her demonic steed.

"Jaken?"

"Y-yes Lord Sesshomaru?" Jaken stuttered, wondering what would become of him.

"Take Rin home." Sesshomaru looked Jaken in the eye, making sure that his order was understood, and took off at full speed into the forest.

Not long after, he came to the outskirts of a wheat field, one that was entirely unremarkable in itself, but the ground had been freshly scarred with bits of flesh laying scattered in bloody splotches around the small group of people standing in the middle of the long stalks. He could see the miko bend to the ground and pick up something dark and shiny, which soon turned to a brilliant pink in her grasp. He noted that his hanyou half-brother was too busy wiping the foul smelling innards of a caterpillar demon off his face to notice his presence, but the monk was looking straight at him.

"I think we have company," he could hear the monk say to the rest of the group, who turned to look at him as he approached.

"Sesshomaru!" Inuyasha growled, pulling Tessaiga from it's sheath. "What do you want?"

"Inuyasha!" the miko scolded him. "Why do you always have to go picking a fight?"

"I smelled something foul, and came to find the source," the taiyoukai said. "It seems to be coming from you, slayer."

Sango blushed. "It must be the perfume Kagome gave me." Sesshomaru eyed her, then Kagome who was turning red as well.

"It smells like you're in heat."

With that statement, both Inuyasha and Miroku broke out into heavy laughter. The women turned a few shades redder, and the kit looked at Kirara and shrugged his confusion. Finally the laughter died down with the men leaning heavily on their weapons for support. "Something amuses you?"

Inuyasha cracked up laughing again. "Sango... in heat! HA!"

"Inuyasha," a very red Kagome growled. "Sit boy!"

Inuyasha's body created yet another crater into the field. Kagome walked closer to Sesshomaru, looking around where he had come from. "Where's Rin?"

"She is safe," he replied, his curiosity piqued.

"I have something for her," Kagome replied, smiling. "But I want to give it to her myself."

"She is at my home," he looked down at the woman who had seemingly tried to seduce him just a few days earlier.

"What'd you do that for?" Inuyasha moaned as he finally managed to pull his face out of the dirt.

"Let's go then," Kagome said to the rest of the group, ignoring Inuyasha.

"Where?" Shippo piped up.

"To Sesshomaru's!"

Everyone gaped at her. "Why would we go there?" Inuyasha demanded.

Kagome sighed. "I have things I want to give to Rin, and that's where she is, so therefore, I'm going there."

"Feh. I'm not going," Inuyasha said, sitting up and crossing his arms over his chest, reminding Kagome of her brother when he was sulking.

"I will take her," Sesshomaru surprised himself as his lips formed the words without him realizing it. He ignored the amazed looks the humans were giving him.

"No way! You'll try to hurt her!" Inuyasha growled, jumping to his feet.

"I give you my word, little brother," Sesshomaru glared back at him. Kagome picked up her backpack and slung it over one shoulder, then walked over and wrapped her arm around Sesshomaru's waist, waiting to be lifted into the air.

"I'll be fine! Besides, you know where I'll be," Kagome sighed. "Let's go!"

Before Inuyasha could protest, they were gone in a blur of light.

"You hurt her, I'll kill you!" Inuyasha yelled at the quickly disappearing ball of light.

"You think this is part of her plan?" Shippo whispered to Sango.

"I'd bet on it."

----------

Kagome was surprised that Sesshomaru had taken off when she had said to, but she let it slide as she quickly closed her eyes against the rapidly moving ground beneath them. "I thought you didn't have a home?" Kagome questioned, hoping to break the silence.

"I mostly roam, but I have dwellings to reside in so should I chose," he replied, giving her no further details. With a glimmer of hope, she pressed on.

"It must have been lonely before you had companions," she mused, but he didn't respond. Guessing that he might answer direct questions, she took another route to her words. "How did you meet Rin?"

The daiyoukai looked down at her, but still didn't speak. Kagome fidgeted uncomfortably within his rather tight one-armed grasp, but only succeeded in his grasp tightening around her waist.

"Don't squirm or I might drop you," he stared coldly at her. Kagome crossed her arms over her chest, making sure that her backpack was securely on her shoulder before leaning her head wearily against his mokomoko-sama. The fur was wonderfully soft against her skin, and surprisingly warm. Her mind began to wonder, frantically searching for a conversation topic that might induce more than a simple reply from the demon.

She thought of the first time she had seen Sesshomaru, standing on the demon who held an imitation of Inuyasha's mother in his grasp. He had been trying to find the tomb of their father, Inu No Taisho, which he eventually managed to succeed, but failed in his attempts to gain the Tessaiga, since the sword wouldn't allow him to wield it.

She remembered the many fights between the brothers that nearly always seemed that Sesshomaru was merely gaging his skills, or perhaps taunting his hanyou half brother, and she gasped.

"That's why you took me along so quickly! You're trying to torment Inuyasha!" she laughed at the thoughts of the two demons succumbing to sibling rivalry that ran through her mind, pictures of a little Inuyasha and younger Sesshomaru arguing over petty things.

"I do what I please," was all that he said. Kagome frowned at him.

"You're a very hard person to have a conversation with, you're even worse than Inuyasha when he's pouting!" She thought she heard a slight growl from the taiyoukai, but wasn't sure with the wind in her ears. She could, however, see the ice in his glare, and decided not to push her luck for the rest of the trip.

Unfortunately for her, nature had another thing in mind.

Kagome became aware of a pressing need to urinate, which was rapidly becoming stronger due to the demon's strong arm pressing hard into her stomach region. She began to squirm a little which resulted in a warning glare from Sesshomaru He loosened his grip slightly to let her know that he was serious about dropping her if she moved too much.

"Uh, I'm sorry to bother you, but I really have to pee!" Sesshomaru stared down at her coldly, then slowly lowered them to the ground, releasing her a full three feet above the hard dirt below.

"Be quick about it."

Kagome blushed at the thought of urinating in front of Inuyasha's brother, so she ran behind his back and stepped behind a large bush to do her business, still feeling awkward at the knowledge that he could head, and more than likely smell, everything that was happening.

Of course, it was always a similar situation whenever Inuyasha was around, but she could always tell him to butt out for awhile, whereas she knew that if she told Sesshomaru to go away, he really would, and leave her stranded, alone and unarmed, in the middle of a youkai infested forest.

She chose to bear the embarrassment and just do what she had to do.

Soon they were in the air again, and Kagome soon grew tired of the silence, then just plain grew tired. After a half hour of traveling, Sesshomaru looked down to see the miko asleep using the soft fur of his mokomoko-sama as a fluffy pillow.

----------

Kagome awoken to being painfully dumped onto the hard dirt ground. She glared daggers at the stoic Sesshomaru before looking around at her surroundings. The first thing she saw was a path leading towards a village from wherever they were. It didn't look like an overly large village, but she sensed that it was regular humans living there. She turned to look over her shoulder to see the front gate of a lord's home like any other she had seen in her travels. She could clearly define which of the buildings where for lodging, the main dining area, and even a bathhouse.

Sesshomaru walked towards the largest lodge, obviously meant for the lord of the village Jaken ran out from another lodging, calling a greeting of joy at his master's return.

"Jaken," he said, not looking down and continuing his steady pace towards the structure. "Show the miko to one of the guest rooms."

The kappa stood staring blankly at Kagome for a moment before shrieking a protest. "But mi'lord! She is human!"

Sesshomaru stopped and glared at Jaken for his brash objection, at which the kappa slunk back and quickly motioned for Kagome to follow him.

Jaken stopped outside the quarters that were closest to the gate, the smallest one, Kagome decided judging by the exterior. Deciding not to be choosy about where she was staying, Kagome gratefully accepted and headed indoors to sort through her belongings to find the presents for Rin.

Not long after she had finished unpacking and re-packing her backpack, Jaken slid the door open to her room, ordering her to come to diner. Within the short distance from Kagome's lodge to the dining hall, Jaken had managed to aggravate her nearly to snapping point with his ramblings of useless humans stinking up his master's home.

Rin looked towards the door as it opened and quickly burst into giggles at the rather large lump on Jaken's head. "Master Jaken, who is this?"

Kagome walked over to Rin, smiling at her. "My name is Kagome," she told the girl.

"I know you!" the girl grinned as she remembered the woman's face. "I've seen you traveling with that adorable kit!"

Kagome smiled as Rin referred to Shippo as adorable, something that she had been chided for many a time from her young ward. She nodded, sitting on a cushion beside the girl.

"What are you doing here?" the girl asked.

"I actually came because I have something I want to give you."

"A present? For me?" Rin said, wide eyed. "But why?"

"Because I wanted to, and one of the things I think that every little girl should have," Kagome beamed and looked up as a human brought out their meal.

"When can I have it? Where is it?" Rin questioned, suddenly excited. Kagome couldn't help but be reminded of her little brother and his enthusiasm for presents.

"It's in my room, we can go get it after we eat, okay?"

Rin nodded, then turned her attention to the meal in front of her. Kagome noticed that the taiyoukai was absent, but she hadn't expected him to join them. The kappa stood near the door, leaning on his staff and glancing over at the two females out of the corners of his large round eyes every now and then.

"Aren't you going to eat?" Kagome asked him.

"I don't eat human food," he replied, crossing his arms.

Rin giggled. "That's exactly what Lord Sesshomaru said to me when I first met him!"

Kagome smiled, realizing that this was her chance to finally learn how the girl came to be with the demon. So, she asked the girl to tell her tale, which the child happily did.

Kagome was horrified as the girl spoke, telling her of the bandits who slew her parents and the villagers who beat her, but Kagome's mind whirled with suspicions when she said that she had been chased down and killed by a pack of wolves. Koga, Kagome thought with a frown.

"But Lord Sesshomaru saved me!" she exclaimed happily, taking another mouthful of rice before continuing. "He let me stay with him, he's so kind! I know that no matter what, he'll always come back for me!"

Kagome smiled at the girl before taking the last bite of fish on her plate. She eyed Rin's plate, which was almost empty, and waited until she was finished before speaking again.

"Let's go get those presents, shall we?"

Rin immediately jumped up from her seat, pulling Kagome up with her. Within moments they were out the door and racing across the courtyard towards Kagome's hut. As they neared, Kagome noticed that someone had taken the time to light a lamp just inside her door so that she would be able to find her way around upon her return. Thankful for small favors, Kagome slid the door open.

Rin bound into the room ahead of her, plopping down on her bedroll and waiting eagerly for her gifts. Kagome smiled at the child, reaching for her yellow backpack that was starting to show serious signs of wear after the abuse she had put it through the past couple years.

Opening the front flap, Kagome told the girl to close her eyes. Reaching under the doll, she pulled out the silky kimono she had bought a few days earlier and draped it across Rin's outstretched arms.

Opening her eyes, the girl squealed with glee. "It's so beautiful!" she exclaimed, holing the cloth up for closer inspection.

"Why don't you go try it on?" Kagome suggested, motioning to the back where a standing screen provided a change room. "I'll have the other present for you ready when you come out."

Rin nodded and ducked behind the screen, soon tossing her worn orange checkered kimono out from behind as she began to dress in the new robes. Kagome smirked and pulled the doll out of her bag, sitting it on the bedroll and straightening its clothing and soft, dark brown curls before placing her backpack in view of it, draping her towel over top to completely obscure the view.

Rin stepped out from behind the curtain, spinning a full circle to show off her new outfit. Kagome gasped and applauded, thankful that it seemed to fit the girl quite well. After a moment of this, the girl noticed the pile on the bed, and pointed at it. "What's that?"

Kagome grinned, motioning her to sit beside her. When she was seated, her eyes closed yet again in anticipation, the miko removed the blanket and placed the doll in the girl's lap.

Rin opened her eyes, blinking a couple times to focus, then widened her brown orbs in wonder. "This, it's so wonderful!" she cried. "I've never seen anything like it!"

"It's a doll from where I'm from, most little girls have them and take care of them, brushing their hair, dressing them in pretty clothes," Kagome smiled at the memories of her own dolls when she was a child. "I thought that you should have one, too."

Rin's eyes misted over as she flung her arms around Kagome's neck. "Thank you so much, Kagome-sama!"

Kagome blushed slightly, but returned her embrace. "Your welcome," she smiled as she held the child away from her. "Shall we go show Sesshomaru?"

Rin nodded, taking Kagome's hand and heading outside. Instead of pulling her towards the largest housing unit, the girl led her to another small building right across the courtyard from her own. Kagome noticed a light flickering inside and wondered if the taiyoukai had been in there the whole night. The one room building had a decent sized window that one was afforded a view of the entire courtyard, the better to see the coming and going of his guests.

But as they entered through the sliding door, Kagome couldn't see the demon lord anywhere. The room was made smaller due to the floor to ceiling bookshelves covered the walls on either side of the room. A large desk stood in the middle of the room, piled high with stacks of scrolls, both old and new. Behind the desk was a large painting of an impressive looking man, his hand on the shoulder of a younger man,

Kagome smiled as she realized that the younger man in the painting was Sesshomaru, deciding that the older demon in the painting must have been his and Inuyasha's father. She was examining the painting from across the room, one that seemed almost alive. The great Inu No Taisho looked like he would walk out of the painting, but Kagome jumped back as Sesshomaru's image really did.

"Don't worry miko, the painting is an illusion."

Kagome's heart still raced. "You could have at least warned me!" she shrieked at the demon. The pictures remained the same, so it seemed almost a fluke that he had stepped out in precisely where his own image was painted. Rin, seemingly not noticing his entrance, ran over to Sesshomaru

"Sesshomaru-sama! Look what Kagome got me!" she grinned, handing him her doll and spinning to show off her new kimono. The hard lord's eyes softened watching the girl who was so full of joy at the simple gift. "Isn't it gorgeous?"

Sesshomaru nodded his agreement, a slight movement of his head that made the girl beam with happiness.

Just then, Jaken came bursting into the room. "Master Sesshomaru! I beg your forgiveness for allowing these humans to disrupt your work!" he fell to his knees, watching his master's face. The demon's lips turned up in an uncharacteristic smile, which frightened the kappa beyond reason. "Please don't hurt me!"

"Jaken," Sesshomaru said, stopping his servants fearful cries. "Take Rin to bed."

The kappa bowed, thankful to have been spared his masters wrath. "And the miko?" Sesshomaru glared at the former demon-lord, who shrieked and pushed Rin out the door.

They sat in silence for awhile, Kagome growing increasingly uncomfortable. Finally, she couldn't take it anymore and broke the silence. "So, you have a very nice place."

He looked at her, then turned to sit at the desk, barely accepting her comment with a slight movement of his head. He motioned for Kagome to sit opposite him, which she quickly obliged, wondering what the invitation to stay was all about.


	5. Chapter 5: Truth, Lies, and Butterflies

Kagome grew increasingly uncomfortable as the silence deepened in the room. She could feel his eyes boring into her, seemingly reading her every thought. She looked around, finally settling her gaze on his lips. She couldn't bring herself to look into the taiyoukai's steely eyes.

"Why are you here?" he finally asked.

Kagome bit her bottom lip nervously. "I had things to give to Rin, you said she was here," she half truthfully told him, and she knew that he could tell that it wasn't the only reason. She could feel her knees begin to tremble under his intense stare, and finally she gave in. "I wanted to get to know you!" she blurted out.

No expression or hint of thought passed Sesshoumaru's face. Kagome finally locked her gaze with his, forcing herself to not look away. "I just, I was curious," she said when she could control herself no longer and looked down at her folded hands. "I've seen you around, but I don't really know anything about you, or really Rin for that matter, and even less about Jaken."

The demon quirked an eyebrow at her, the slightest movement of his delicate features.

"I know, curiosity killed the cat," she began, trying to fill the abscence of his responce, but she was cut short.

"What an interesting locution," he said, still staring at her.

Kagome took a deep breath, realizing that in her analogy, she would very well be the cat. She hoped dearly that her companions half-brother wouldn't kill her merely for being curious, but she knew that the daiyoukai had killed borth mortals and demons for lesser reasons.

Sesshoumaru could smell the fear suddenly eminating from the girl across from him, but she still stood her ground, never physically flinching or cowering back from his presence. Intrigued, the lord stood and leaned slightly across to desk towards her, wondering how far he could push her boundaries before she would submit to her instincts.

He was suprised, however, when she challenged him back. She was on the edge of her seat, looking like she was ready to spring for the door at a moments notice, but her upper body leaned in towards him. He could feel her miko aura mixing with his own in a not wholy unpleasant sensation. His eyes fixed to hers, he growled, "do not get in the way of my business here or threaten anyone and you may stay until your companions come to bring you back."

Kagome was stunned. She hadn't thought about the others since they had suddenly dissapeared earlier that day. She guessed that they would likely be there in two days, travelling at the speed they normally did when out searching for shards, possibly a little faster with Inuyasha's prompting. When she regained her composure, Kagome nodded and stood, wishing the taiyoukai goodnight before exiting. Once outside, she ran towards her hut, thankful to be outside in the fresh air.

_So,_ Kagome thought to herself, _I have two days to break that ice._

Sesshoumaru watched her run across the courtyard from the window in the library. His nails clicked the wooden frame as he tapped his fingers, lost in his own thoughts.

-----------

Kagome awoke to two dark brown orbs staring down at her. "Good morning!" Rin cheerily sung when she noticed that the older womans eyes were open.

"Good morning Rin," Kagome smiled back, stretching her tired body to consciousness. "What do you want to do today?"

Rin smiled. "I want to go play in the gardens!" she nearly shouted with enthusiasm. Her smiled dropped for a second, "but master Jaken says that we should have breakfast first."

Kagome stood, walking behind the screen to change from her pajamas into her usual clothes, only to find a beautiful silver kimono with purple flowers hanging in place of her school uniform. "Rin? Where are my clothes?"

"Master Sesshoumaru told me to take them to be cleaned, and 'leave a more suitable outfit' in it's place," she giggled as she imitated the taiyoukai. Kagome smiled as the silk caressed her skin. She was almost afraid to put it on, but she knew that she wouldn't be slaying demons or travelling while wearing the fine fabric, so she didn't refuse.

When she stepped out from behind the screen, she noticed that Rin was wearing the kimono that she had given the girl. "Look! We match!" Rin smiled, heading towards the door.

As they stepped outside into the bright morning light, they were greeted by the annoying voice of Jaken. "You'll have to make your own breakfast this morning," he told them, his nose in the air. "The cook was sent on an errand in town."

Kagome smiled and nodded, turning inside to rummage through her bag for a moment before walking towards the dining hall. Rin lead her through another door to show her the cooking area, closing the door behind them so that Jaken wouldn't bother them.

"So what shall we make?" Kagome asked the girl. She looked confused for a little while, not sure what to reply. "How about pancakes?"

Rin nodded eagerly, thinking of the delicious pancakes the cook made whenever they were at the house and not travelling. Kagome looked through the cupboards in search of the ingredients and supplies. When she finally had the ingredients, she began mixing them all into a bowl. Following Kagome's instruction, Rin had a fire started and the pan heating by the time the main part of the batter was mixed, so she came to watch the preperations.

"What's that?" she asked, pointing to the brown chunks that Kagome had been chopping up and was now mixing into the light batter.

"It's chocolate," Kagome replied, handing the girl a piece to try before she dumped the rest of the chunks into the batter. "It's a yummy treat from where I'm from." The girl eyed the chocolate in her fingers wearily before slowly placing it on her tongue. After a few moments, her eyes lit up with glee.

"It's delicious!" she exclaimed, grinning before licking the melted chocolate off her fingers.

"It comes in all kinds," Kagome smiled back at her. "This is milk chocolate, so it's sweeter than regular chocolate, but there's many different types, and ways to eat it," she grinned, thankful that she had brought more for the girl. "When you cook it in pancakes like this, the chocolate gets all gooey and warm."

Rin smiled, her face taking on a dreamy expression at the thought of more of the delicious brown substance. Kagome smiled as she flipped the pancakes, then went in search of a plate. She had already decided to bring some marshmallows and graham crackers back from her time the next time she went for a visit, but she didn't know when that would be so she didn't want to get the child's hopes up, not to mention that she didn't know when she would see the girl next after her friends came to get her.

Suddenly remembering her purpose at the taiyoukai's home, she wondered when she would get a chance to see the demon lord, or if he would hide away until she left. Bringing it up, trying to be casual, Kagome asked Rin what the inuyoukai usually did while he was there.

"He's usually doing stuffy lord stuff," she giggled, sticking her tongue out to show her distaste. "But he's usually watching what's happing around here, takes little breaks to make sure that the servants are doing their jobs," she said, rolling her eyes. "But sometimes he plays with me!" she smiled again, eyeing the chocolate turning to goo in the pan.

Kagome almost choked at the mental image of the stoic lord playing with a human girl. Then, as her imagination wandered even farther, she pictured him as a gigantic puppy, wagging his tail with his tongue lolling out the side of his mouth while the child threw sticks for him to fetch. Undable to contain herself any longer, Kagome burst out into laughter. Rin looked startled at her sudden outburst, so Kagome explained what she had been thinking.

Rin burst into laughter along with her, and soon the two were sitting on the floor, holding their sides with tears streaming down their cheeks. Both stopped, startled, as the door slid open with a bang.

"What's going on in here?" Sesshoumaru asked, looking between the humans. Instead of answering, they both simply started laughing again.

"Stop, it's killing me!" Kagome cried as she collapsed onto her back on the hard wood floor. Sesshoumaru narrowed his eyes at her, silently promising that if the laughter didn't kill her, he would for ignoring him. Rin jumped to her feet, tugging at the youkai's sleeve so she could whisper something into his ear. She continued giggling after he straightened, expressionless. Without saying anything, he turned and walked out the door.

The girls looked at eachother and burst out laughing yet again. A few moments later, Kagome remembered the pancakes. Prying them off the pan, the bottoms darker than she would have liked, Kagome served Rin her first taste of chocolate chip pancakes.

----------

Sesshoumaru went back to his patrol around the estate, irked that the girls had been laughing at him. He couldn't believe what they had actually had the gall to imagine him doing! He hoped that once the miko had left, Rin would forget all that nonsence and never attempt to make their childish thoughts a reality.

He admitted to himself that he probably would do it, if only to hear the girl's gleeful laughter.

But, he also knew that the girl wasn't a burden, and her joy came easily. He didn't doubt that the girl truly did need human companionship, someone she could talk to. Even another female around would likely make her life with him happier.

He also knew that while he knew a great deal about humans, even a demon lord couldn't teach her the finer aspects of womanhool, once that time came for the girl. He didn't know what her true age was, but he guessed that in a few years, she would be nearing the time when she would be a woman.

Her oblivious devotion to him was something he hadn't expected. He had revived her from death, repaying her kindness while he recuperated from his injuries from the fateful day he lost his arm. He didn't expect her to follow him, nor did he expect that silent girl to blossom into a chatty companion that brought him flowers and obeyed his every command.

She was a mystery among her species, or what he had known of her species.

Inuyasha's mother, Izayoi, had been mortal, and she had caused his father to perish before he himself could kill him to show his dominance. Sesshoumaru, however he disliked her, had visited her from time to time, without her knowledge of course. This woman had been in his fathers last words to him, and he wanted to find just what it was about her that he had cared enough to die for.

He couldn't find that answer from the woman Izayoi, but he found it in a little girl.

"Yes father, I have something to protect," he said, looking out towards the villiage. He turned when his ears picked up the laughter of the women as they headed towards the gardens.

His domain was not impervious to demon attack, just as any other villiage in existance, but the demons who had frequented the area knew of the taiyoukai and knew the boundaries, if one should cross them, even in his absence, they would likely be terminated immediately.

Little known to anyone, the magical working of his home. Many decades of securing his stronghold should war break out, he had aquired several means of defence for his residence. The first being a barrier was placed around the grounds so that no youkai without an encoded magical ring could pass. To guard against human attackers, the barrier also kept out any humans that were not invited in. The guards at the gate could shut the barrier off at the gate, but nowhere else, so that the humans could pass if they had business concerning the villiage the taiyoukai oversaw.

When a demon attacked, he was thrown back by a blast of demonic energy. Humans who tried to enter without coming through the front gates were given the same blast of energy, but to a lesser extent as to not kill them.

When Sesshoumaru had brought Kagome to the manor, he had not used the gate as he seldom did, wanting the servants unknowing of his precence for as long as possible. If they were slacking, he would remove their employ at the residence, taking back the coveted ring to hand to the next servant.

When the miko was in Sesshoumaru's arms, her holy aura withdrawn due to sleep, his jaki could envelop her so that the barrier did not notice her precence. It was a decent defence system, but not his only one. His last means of defence were, of course, the painting, in which only he and those he brought through directly with him could pass. If an invader happened to see them enter, he would walk into hard, stone wall. Should the painting itself be completely destroyed, those inside would still have a means of escape through a secondary painting in another, more secluded home that he kept in the mountains, unknown to anyone but himself as to its existance.

He had been considering updating the painting so that it would allow more than himself and his now deceaced father through the portal, but his efforts to find the artist who had painted it had gone in vain, as the demon who had once resided in the villiage had seemingly vanished.

The taiyoukai was thinking about that demon when he heard a shriek coming from the the gardens, where the two human girls had just run off to. Thinking of a possible demon in the far corners of the gardens, ones that the barrier hadn't protected, the lord quickly bolted into action, slowing to a walk as he saw no demons, but the girls dancing around in an amusing fashion.

"Why are you doing that?" he asked them. Rin ran over brushing at her arms and legs, trying her best not to shriek as she told her master that there were ants crawling around inside their kimonos. Sesshoumaru's eyes softened as he looked down at the girl who was still trying to shake the little bugs out of her dress. He glaced over to the older woman, who looked almost as he thought Rin would in several years time. They were both doing the same actions, dancing around.

"Miko," he instructed. "Hold Rin and flare your aura."

She looked at him, dumbfounded. "I don't know how to do that!" she cried as her hand flew to her back. "Besides, why would my miko powers affect plain old ants?"

Sesshoumaru refrained from rolling his eyes, an action that was beneath his position. "The ants do have a demonic aura, but it's faint. You would have noticed had you not been dancing like an idiot."

Kagome stared at him for a minute, trying to comprehend. "Demon ants? HA!" she laughed, but reahed for Rin. "Let's hope this works," she muttered as Rin writhed in her arms, still trying to brush off the hordes of ants that had come out of nowhere.

"Don't think about it, like you are going to fire an arrow, add your energy to the girl's, but instead of transferring it to a weapon, move it over your joined skin."

Kagome did as he said, trying not to think and swipe at the ants that were tickling her arms.

"If you don't do it before the ants find the right areas of your body, they will begin harvesting your living flesh."

Kagome's eyes flew open in shock, only to see a pink wave rolling overtop of her. Through the haze she could feel the little feet slipping away from her skin, the child in her arms settling down as the irritation dissapeared. She looked to Sesshoumaru who was stepping backwards, away from the ki that was spilling over from Kagome and snaking its way along the ground. Kagome blinked a few times, now trying to think of a way to stop the outpour of energy that threatened to purify everyone around.

She didn't have an answer.

"How do I turn it off?" she shouted at the taiyoukai who was now hovering above the ground on his cloud, still moving slowly backwards as her ki pushed him away. He could withstand alot of force, but her energy was turning to a brilliant, glowing light of purity that hurt his eyes and burned his skin. As it was, he was within a distance that lesser demons would have been instantly destroyed.

If he did answer her, she didn't hear it. All she could hear was the faint, distant sounding hum as her energy burst forth. She noticed that the child in her arms was safe, but fright was mixed in with her expression of awe. Kagome realized that if she didn't figure out how to stop the outpouring of purity, she would no longer have to worry about a bet with Inuyasha since the demon lord would be killed.

Her vision started to fade through the expanding pink bubble. Panic set in, her eyes darting around. Suddenly, it dawned on her to try to concentrate the energy into one place, like her arrow. Keeping Rin close to her, she closed her eyes and tried to feel beyond herself, reaching out with invisible arms to gather the holy light closer to herself. When at last she opened her eyes what seemed like an eternity later, she saw her ki flowing around them in a tight river, a barrier that rivaled any she had seen.

Sesshoumaru felt the slowing of her spiritual energy and stopped moving away. As he watched, she miraculously pulled the stinging light around herself and the child, creating a rather thick barrier that crackled and flowed around the two humans. He was no longer being burnt by the energy, but he knew better than to get too close to the barrier.

Kagome, looking around herself, saw the taiyoukai once again on his feet, slowly approaching them. "Stay back," she quietly warned. "I don't know if I can hold it."

He complied, knowing that an untrained miko shouldn't even be able to produce such a force, let alone control it. He looked carefully to make sure that his ward was allright before retreating to a safer distance. He watched as the woman slowly closed her eyes, a shudder passing through her body as she sat and focused, trying nearly in vain to control the energy.

She could feel an emptiness, one that she knew should have been filled. It seemed that a hole had been torn through the barrier that held her powers at bay, and she didn't know what to do to repair it. So, without a clue as to what to do, she sat and began to meditate, running through her head everything and nothing all at once. Vague images flashed through her mind, battles they had fought, sitting in class, her brother pretending to be Inuyasha. All rather meaningless snippets of her life that made her smile, and she began to understand.

Slowly she reached out her spiritual arms to pull the energy back into the void. It was resistant, but she could feel that unknown part of her filling slowly as the crackling energy around her slowly dissipated. When the void was full and she could no longer feel the warm tickle on her skin, she sighed and smiled, knowing that everyone was safe.

Then, in pure spiritual exhaustion, her physical body collapsed on the ground.

----------

Kagome mentally groaned at the noise around her. She couldn't make out exactly what the voices were saying, but they seemed to be trying to communicate with her. Trying to shut them out and stay in her peacefull rest, she groaned and shushed them. Hearing their chattering intensify at her little vocal recognition of life, Kagome wearily opened an eye. She saw two figures staring down at her, brown eyes with a joyful gleam, and amazingly blue ones that didn't reveal any of their secrets, though she thought she saw a hint of curiosity there.

"What?" she muttered, trying to sit up.

"You fainted," Sesshoumaru stated matter-of-factly. She sent a deadly glare his direction.

"Obviously," she sneered, forgetting altogether that she was trying to make him more open to her. "What happened before that?"

"You were all pink, and glowing!" Rin chimed in. "It tingled, and it made Master Sesshoumaru back away, but then it went back to you and went away, and you fell on the ground. I was scared you'd hurt yourself," she said sadly before brightening. "But you're okay now!"

Kagome looked at her with an unbelieving stare before shifting her gaze to the taiyoukai. He merely nodded, shifting his hand's position to show her the light burns that adorned his skin. Her eyes grew wide, knowing that she had nearly purified him.

"Oh my Kami, what did I do?" she moaned, laying back on the ground.

"You lost control of your miko power for a little while," Sesshoumaru told her, brushing it aside like an annoying bug rather than a potentially fatal situation for himself.

"Well excuse me, but if I remember correctly, YOU were the one to tell me to do it," she shot at him, still laying on the ground.

The taiyoukai quirked an eyebrow at her, a slight movement of his delicate features. "I never told you to lose control."

Kagome sat up, instantly annoyed. "You told me to! And besides, I was never trained on how to do that! I only know how to charge a weapon with my power, not use it on its own!" She poked him in the chest, trying to drive her point home. She realized her mistake when a low rumble could faintly be heard coming from deep in his chest.

"I am no mind reader, miko," he growled at her. Rin, sencing that she shouldn't be there for that conversation, took off, chasing butterflies around the garden. Kagome watched her salvation run away, as surely Sesshoumaru wouldn't kill her in front of his ward.

The inuyoukai's lips twitched up at the corners as he senced her fear of him, yet she didn't back down. Testing her resolve, he slowly leaned in, trying to invade her personal space, his stance becoming more dominant that it had been. Kagome held his gaze, and her position. She wasn't sure what to think about him leaning towards her, but she insinctually knew that she was being tested somehow.

Kagome, taking the bait, leaned closer to him. She could vaguely see his lips forming a slight smile, one that terrified his servant, Jaken, so much. Getting a wicked idea in her head as their noses almost touched, she stuck her tongue out and licked the tip of his nose.

That broke him. His body jerked back, swiping at his nose. He glared daggers at her for making him lose his concentration, but realized that with him being the first to look away, it had, in his pack instincts, told her that she was more dominant than himself.

That was perposterous, of course, for he could easily overcome her physically, perhaps even mentally. He quickly decided that it was merely her devices that he had been unprepared for, as much as it pained him to admit that he was unprepared, that had caused her to win the stare-down.

Kagome, happy to be free of his intense gaze and odd actions, bolted from the ground in an attempt to race to Rin's side. She only got a few steps, however, when she could feel herself losing her footing against the muscular frame that turned her around and eased her to the ground, his body on top of hers.

"You will refrain from licking me," he growled down at her. He didn't expect her to burst into giggles at the thought. "What's so funny?" he asked her for the second time that day.

Her faced blushed, a furiously red color that showed her deep embarassment and hesitation to tell him what was on her mind. He merely glared at her, waiting for a reply. So, looking to make sure that Rin was out of earshot, she leaned up and whispered what she had been pictureing in his mind.

Kagome almost smiled as his cheeks redened. He stood, turned, and walked out of the gardens. Rin, seeing his departure, ran over to a still red Kagome. "Why's he leaving?" she asked. Kagome just shook her head and smiled at the child, then went off to look for butterflies.

----------

After dinner that evening, Kagome found herself sitting alone in her room. She sighed and flopped down on her bed, racking her brain to try to think of a way to make the taiyoukai warm up to her. Watching the lamplight flickering on the ceiling, she silently mused to herself.

_He cared for Rin, I know that much. But it doesn't seem that being friendlier with her is making his warm up any, he sure hasn't been overly nice to Jaken in their years together. Hummm. That was odd earlier, when he leaned into me. I can't believe I licked his nose! Kami, I'm lucky to have my head. I'm sure if Rin hadn't been there, I wouldn't be thinking about it now! I am such a baka..._

I don't know. I don't think talking to him would be a good way to convince him to warm up to me. He's not very good at making small-talk, and he'd probably try melting me if I barged in on him to talk about something mundane.

Kagome sighed yet again, closing her eyes and rubbing at her temples. Suddenly, she jumped from her spot, reaching for her backpack. After a few moments pawing through candy and ramen supplies, she found the little beaker she was looking for.

"I'd forgotten about this!" she exclaimed to herself, joy overcoming her. Then, she remembered his reaction to Sango's perfume. "I wonder if he'd dislike it? Nah, this is meant for him, not Miroku or Inuyasha! Hopefully he doesn't try to sniff my..." she blushed and stuffed the beaker into the obi of her silver kimono, just in case for later.

For now, she was going to try to talk to him.

Taking a deep breath and rushing across the courtyard before her resolve diminished, Kagome knocked on the door lightly before stepping inside. Peeking around the little room, almost afraid to talk, she eyed the painting at the other side of the desk. "Hello?"

A hand on her shoulder wasn't what she was expecting. The feeling of the claws lightly grasping her skin though the silk made jump and her heart race. She whirled around to look into the amber eyes of Sesshoumaru.

"Did you require something?" he asked her, glaring down at her. Nervously, she looked at him, then towards the desk.

"Um, can we sit?" she asked. He merely walked past her without reply. "Okay, so, I wanted to talk about something..."

"What do you want, miko?" he growled with impatience.

"It's Rin," she blurted, not sure what she was going to say next. She slipped her hand to her side, ready to release a few drops from the vial when she thought it was time.

"What about her?"

"Well, she's a human girl, you know," Kagome began, her cheeks burning red.

"I realized that."

Kagome mentally rolled her eyes. "I mean, well, how old is she?"

He leaned back in his seat, calculating. "She has been with me four years," he began. "Before that, I do not know how many she lived with humans."

Kagome thought for a minute. "I think she might be around twelve years old," she speculated. Sesshoumaru's slight nod confirmed that he, too, thought as much. "Anyways, it's about that time when young girls, well, change."

Sesshoumaru considered this for a moment. "And tell me, miko, why is her changing any concern of mine?"

Kagome was astonished. "You're her guardian! You should know what she'll be going through so when it happens, she won't be completely freaked out and you'll know how to handle it!"

"I know youkai, miko. I do not concern myself with human bodies."

Kagome fumed. "She has to know what's going to happen so she can be prepared! Imagine, all that stuff happening and not even knowing why!"

Sesshoumaru quirked an eyebrow at her, which she took as interest. "Okay, look. The first thing that'll happen, and it seems that it already has started, is her breasts will start to grow. Like mine!" she emphasized, mindlessly pointing her her own chest. Her cheeks flamed when his eyes glanced towards the tip of the V in her top, but she chose to ignore it. "Just, nevermind. Anyways, that's not it. She'll start growing hair, like, in her private regions."

Sesshoumaru nodded his understanding, trying not to smile as her face continually flamed all shades of red. "Continue."

"Ok, well, her body shape will change, her hips will widen, as well as her breasts growing, and she'll fill out a little more, to, well, look more womanly."

The taiyoukai nodded.

"And, well, she'll start to bleed. You see, once a month, and she'll need some kind of sanitary things to keep it from getting over her clothes. It usually lasts anywhere between two days and seven days, and can be uncomfortable if she gets cramps, or even highly painful, and she might get irritable," Kagome said, recalling her days spent snapping at Inuyasha. "It's not a lot of blood, but it does take awhile to all come out."

Sesshoumaru continued to stare at her when she was finished talking, making her uncomfortable. She realized that she had been fingering the test tube in her belt most of the time she had been talking, and felt around to make sure that the stopper hadn't come unclogged.

Her eyes went wide when she couldn't find the cork. She looked up to see a slight flash of red in Sesshoumaru's eyes, vaguely noticing in the back of her mind that she could see the purple streaks on his cheeks much easier than she could a few minutes ago.

Running her hand down her thigh, she could feel the drops of pheremone running down the outter silk, very slightly soaking into the material. Kagome shut her eyes, sending a silent prayer that she hadn't done something horribly stupid. "So, um, do you have anymore questions?" she asked weakly.

Sesshoumaru blinked a couple times, trying to get his instincts to settle down. He had scented something that he couldn't define, but it was instantly making him aroused. He reminded himself that he was with a human, and they had just been talking about his human ward, but his mind kept straying to, well, he didn't know where it was going.

He shook his head slightly as his body betrayed him, his lips quirking into a slight smile.

_Uh Oh,_ Kagome thought to herself. I'm in for it now, and there's no _hot spring for me to go wash in!_


	6. Chapter 6: Battle of Blood

Finally realizing something, Kagome panicked. _Oh my Kami, what will he do to me when he realizes that I tricked him into acting like this? I'm going to be one dead girl, _she thought glumly to herself as she slowly backed away from the desk.

One moment her hand was on the door, trying desperately to move slowly so that hopefully he wouldn't attack her, the next she was watching Sesshomaru fall to the floor as she was knocked backwards through the now open door, a pink bubble swirling around her. Not taking the time to find out if he was alright, she turned and bolted towards the gates. She didn't know where she would go, she wasn't thinking much beyond getting away and getting rid of those damn pheromones.

Just past the gate, she could see something moving in the distance, a reddish glow in the sky that seemed to be heading towards Sesshomaru's home. "Sango!" Kagome called out, thankful that her friends had arrived early. Hopefully they could get her away and clean her up before the taiyoukai could catch up to her.

Kagome mentally slapped herself when the red clad figure of Inuyasha stopped in his tracks and sniffed the air around her, his eyes flashing crimson. Miroku caught up, panting heavily as Sango and Shippo jumped off Kirara.

"Kagome!" Shippo cried, running towards her.

"Stop Shippo! Can't you see her barrier?" Miroku caught the kit before he could harm himself.

"Inuyasha?" Kagome questioned, hoping that she could snap him out of his daze. At least, until she caught wind of Sango's perfume. "Ohshit."

The combined mixture of Sango's human pheromones, the Inu-pheromones Kagome sported, and the miko's own scent had driven the hanyou's demon instincts into overdrive. Kagome's eyes widened as faint purple markings became apparent on his cheeks, even with Tessaiga by his side. Miroku and Sango were standing behind Inuyasha, so they had no idea what was happening, or why Kagome looked so scared.

Inuyasha grinned, baring his fangs for her to see. She could see his muscles bunching underneath his robes, and physically prepared herself for the assault on her barrier. Closing her eyes so she wouldn't have to see her friend colliding with her purifying force, Kagome waited for the blow.

It didn't come.

Carefully opening her eyes to see the monk and taijiya, both in battle stances, watching something behind her. Slowly she turned to see Inuyasha, claws ready for attack, squaring himself against his half brother. "She's mine," the hanyou growled at Sesshomaru

The taiyoukai's lips quirked up slightly. "If she were yours, would she have come on to me the other day?"

Inuyasha growled. Apparently all his senses weren't lost as he weren't merely a raging, killing machine, but Kagome was worried about him being in the state he was currently in. She also knew that if he stood in Sesshomaru's way, he could very likely die.

Kagome gasped as the barrier around her flickered and dissipated, her only means of defense leaving her. "Just great," she muttered to herself. "I don't even know how the damn thing got there in the first place, not that I'm complaining."

"It's about time you dropped your barrier," a voice called from her shoulder. She lifted her hand automatically to slap away the itching bite on her neck.

"Myoga? What are yo doing here?" she questioned him. He crossed his arms, sitting in the palm of her hand.

"Well, I actually came to talk to Sesshomaru, but it seems I came right in the middle of yet another battle for dominance, but this one seems different than the usual ones," he replied, eying the two brothers who were circling and growling at each other, yet to come to blows.

"Battle for dominance?" By this time, the other humans and her kit had come to stand beside her, all staring at Myoga for an explanation.

"Yes. You see, with Inuyoukai, they consider those with them pack. Within the pack, there's dominant roles and submissive roles. Usually, it's mere words, or if it does come to bloodshed, the wounds inflicted are meant to incapacitate, not kill."

Kagome nodded, remembering the previous battles with Sesshomaru He had never actually killed Inuyasha, but he had severely wounded him on a couple occasions.

"Within the packs, one youkai can be dominant, but still be submissive to another. So, if it came to it, the pack's circle of dominance could go full circle. It's really quite fascinating, and sometimes hard to follow."

Miroku nodded thoughtfully before speaking. "So how is this battle different?"

"I lay my claim to her," Sesshomaru's steely voice came between growls. "She will come to me, not a pathetic half-breed."

Myoga looked at Miroku, raising his eyebrows. Sango's eyes widened and looked into Kagome's. "They're fighting over... you?"

Myoga stood and looked at Kagome closely. "I thought there was something different about you, so now I know. It's your scent."

Kagome turned a deep shade of red, reaching up to hide her face behind her free hand. Sango's gasped with understanding. "The whole bloody vial," Kagome moaned under her breath to her friend.

"Oh no, you said one or two drops made Inu... Miroku, we have to get her out of here, NOW!"

Sesshomaru noticed the closeness of the human male to the woman he had lain claim to, and quickly rushed past Inuyasha to throw the mortal away from the woman. The human woman, kit, and neko were no threat to his claim, so he left them, but he recognized that a male human would be a threat to his claim, just as the hanyou.

Kagome shrieked and slapped Sesshomaru, rage flowing through her veins that he would assault her comrade. "Why would you do that? Kami Sesshomaru, he was just talking to me!" her palm aimed at the stripes on his cheek this time, she went to slap him again, but her hand was stopped by his own fierce grip, his claws slightly digging into her skin. "Let me go you beast!"

Sesshomaru smiled again, thinking that he has proved his dominance and hence, his worth to be her mate. Kagome though otherwise as she reached her free hand to his chest and let go a blast of energy, just as she had done to Mistress Centipede long ago. His form was thrown back, but he landed on his feet. He turned in time to counter an attack from the enraged hanyou who still hadn't had satisfaction of the fight.

Kagome groaned, knowing full well that this was all her fault. If she hadn't tried to tempt Sesshomaru with the chemicals, the whole mess would never have happened. Myoga jumped up and down on her shoulder, trying to draw her attention away from the battling brothers in front of her. "Mud!" he yelled into her ear. "Mud will cover the scent that's driving them into a frenzy!"

Kagome stared at him a moment before looking around. The hard dirt road offered little in the way of mud as it hadn't rained in nearly two weeks. Beyond the demons, within the gates was a pond in the center of the courtyard, but she knew that that, too, wouldn't be a help as now she was outside the barrier, and would not be able to get back inside without Sesshomaru or one of the pass rings.

Kagome looked back to the still recovering Miroku as Sango tried to help him stand. The village wasn't very far away, but she didn't want to draw the battle into the midst of the humans who were starting to drift to sleep below. "Did either of you see a spring on the way here?" she asked them. Kirara perked up, knowing exactly what Kagome was thinking. She rubbed up against Kagome and tilted her head towards her back, her way of telling the miko to climb on.

Kagome glanced back to make sure that the demons wouldn't notice her absence right away, and quickly took off into the skies. Looking around once they were in the air, Kagome noticed a stream running down the hillside and past the village through the trees. Losing altitude as they neared the stream, Kagome steeled herself for the cold shock as she jumped off Kirara's back and into the cold water.

She came up sputtering, swimming towards the shoreline. She hated to do that to the fine silk of her kimono, but she didn't know another way to rid herself of the smell, so as she reached shallow water, Kagome reached under the glossy surface and pulled out a large glob of the slick substance.

She shrieked as her body was lifted from the water from behind as a glowing orb overcame her. She squinted her eyes against the glare, knowing that it was Sesshomaru who had taken her. Grinning at the ball of muck in her hand, Kagome flung the mud over her shoulder, right into her captor's face.

Speeding through the trees in the grasp of a demon lord was exhilarating to say the least, but it soon proved that blinding him could have been a near fatal error. Breakneck speeds were called just that for a reason. Kagome, realizing that his vision was the only thing preventing them from crashing into one of the large trees they were rapidly dodging between, clung fiercely to his shoulder. With one hand, she managed to wipe a liberal amount of mud in the area that she had spilled the pheromone as she hoped that it would be enough to mask the scent.

Sesshomaru, instead of risking her injury by blindly swerving through trees, turned his demonic orb straight up into the sky and shot up above the treetops. Assured that she was holding on tight enough so that she wouldn't fall, he released her momentarily to wipe the mud off his face.

"If you value your life, never assault my person again," he growled at her. When she finally looked to see where they were going, she noticed that they were heading back to his home. Noticing her inquisitive looks, he merely said, "I assure you, I'm not going to harm you."

"No, you're just going to rape me," she muttered under her breath, but being that her mouth was so close to his ear, he heard her quite clearly.

"I would never be so dishonorable as to take a woman against her will. You are foolish to accuse me of such." Kagome rolled her eyes, not entirely believing him. He looked down at her, then slowly worked his way through the tree branches to the ground. "Explain yourself."

"Huh?" Kagome gaped. Under the surface, she was panicking, telling herself that here it was, he last day on earth, she was going to be beheaded by her half-demon friends demon brother whom she had unintentionally overdosed with dog pheromones. Then, as all this reached her, she cracked up laughing.

"Explain yourself, and no not make me ask you again," he growled down at her.

Kagome, nearly delirious, starting ranting. "Oh, nothing really, it's just that I'm going to be killed by my half-demon friends demon brother because I accidentally dumped an entire bottle of pheromones on myself and made both of them go into a lusty rage! I'm not even born yet, and I'm gonna die!" she laughed. She really didn't know what was so funny, but she suspected that her delirium was caused by the knowledge of her impending doom.

Sesshomaru quirked an eyebrow at her. "Fair-ah-moan?"

Kagome laughed harder. It just struck her as odd that nearly everyone she had encountered in the Feudal era seemed to have trouble with words they had never encountered. "It's this chemical stuff that everything gives off, you know, makes the member of the opposite sex attracted to them."

Sesshomaru stared at her. "I see." He turned to leave, but Kagome stopped him.

"That's it? 'I see'? You're not going to threaten to kill me, or just melt me with your acid?"

He ignored her, continuing his walk back towards his estate. Kagome gaped after him for a moment, then set out to follow him back to where her friends were. She was busy staring at her feet, trying not to trip over anything, so she hadn't noticed that he had stopped walking, and she bumped into his muscular frame.

"What'd you do that for?" she groaned, rubbing her rear where she had landed on an exposed root.

"Why would you want to 'attract' this Sesshomaru?" he asked her, turning to look into her eyes. Kagome sat there, stumbling for a reason, but he interrupted. "Would it have anything to do with your odd behavior the other day?"

Kagome merely nodded, and he didn't pursue. Kagome realized that she hadn't lose the bet, or her life, just yet, so she decided to have a good long talk with Myoga once they were far away from the taiyoukai.

There was no need for him to find out what was going on.

Upon return, Sesshomaru immediately went to his personal study to think.

_Why would she want to 'attract' me?_ he thought to himself. He pondered her actions for awhile, but could not decide on an answer that suited him. He clearly remembered her past actions that had surprised everyone present. He kept going back to that day, thinking that it should hold some clue.

After several hours of thinking, the only answer he could come up with was one that almost made him laugh. _That idiot hanyou has likely been running away to the dead woman,_ he mused, _and that seems to make the miko angry towards him. Perhaps she wanted to get revenge._

Sesshomaru walked to the window and peered out, noting that the moon was falling behind the mountains, signaling that the sun would start to lighten the night sky soon. His slender lips turned up lightly as he came to a conclusion, one that would make Inuyasha insane, and likely confuse the miko, taijiya, and monk.

Letting the drape fall back into place, Sesshomaru turned and walked into the great painting on the wall, disappearing to his private residence and began plotting his next actions.

Kirara had come back long before the taiyoukai had first emerged from the forest, worrying Kagome's friends as to her whereabouts and state of health.

Inuyasha had tried to follow after Sesshomaru, but had been forced to turn back shortly after losing both sight and scent of his half-brother. The walk and the fresh air had helped clear his mind of the pheromones influence, but his demonic blood continued to reign over his actions.

Kagome's first sight of her friends was almost laughable had she not been so worried about Inuyasha. The Tessaiga had fallen from his grasp in the midst of his fight with his brother, and now Sango was trying to replace it at his side while avoiding five deadly claws. One of Shippo's statues had the hanyou's left hand pinned painfully to the ground, and sutras placed on his legs to prevent him from kicking out, but it was still not entirely safe to be around him.

Kagome sighed, walking up to Sango. She carefully embraced her friend, taking the Tessaiga before turning to Inuyasha. "Sit," she smiled at him. As the dust scattered, Kagome bent over his prone form to tuck the sheath into its usual position.

Inuyasha turned, glaring at her with amber eyes. "What'd ya do that for?" he demanded, struggling against the statue. "Shippo! Remove this thing or I'll kill you!"

Shippo stepped closed, undoing the spell that held the statue to the ground before turning and running behind Kagome. Kagome laughed as Inuyasha tried to stand, but failed. "Miroku you jerk! Take these damn things off!"

They eventually managed to relax enough to try to catch some sleep before morning, but Kagome was having trouble sleeping.

_I wonder what his motives are?_ she wondered. _Why didn't he kill me, or even threaten to? Well, other than when I threw mud in his face, but that doesn't count. And why would he wonder why I was trying to attract him?_ She contemplated it all for awhile longer, but her head started to feel fuzzy with tiredness and her thoughts were starting to jumble in her head.

The last thing she thought before drifting off to sleep wasn't on her objectives, or Sesshomaru's motives, she was smiling as she remembered his arm around her waist.


	7. Chapter 7: Unintentional Betrayal

The group was uncharacteristically silent as they traveled back towards Kaede's village. Kagome was planning on heading home yet again, they still hadn't found any jewel shards, and Sango's rear was neglected due to Miroku being lost in thought. Finally it was time to stop for lunch. As soon as their usual setting up routine began, uncomfortable conversation strained to fill the gaps. Inuyasha immediately set out to a nearby stream to catch fish, grumbling at the lack of ramen supplies.

They ate their meal in silence. Kagome began to grow uncomfortable after awhile as she noticed that the monk was staring relentlessly in her direction. She wasn't the only one who had noticed the direction of his interest; Sango was getting furious.

"Wow, she's pissed," Inuyasha whispered down to Shippo who only nodded in response. The hanyou quickly decided that he didn't like Miroku's attentions on the miko, either, so he directed his own glare in the monk's direction, a slight growl escaping his throat.

Kagome looked surprised to her Inuyasha growl at Miroku. _So,_ she though, _I wasn't the only one to notice him staring at me._ Shippo ran over to Kagome, bursting into a pink bubble right between her and the monk. "Kagome, do you have any suckers left?" he asked, trying his best to be cute, and not be obvious that he was shielding her from the man's gaze.

Kagome smiled and reached into her backpack, pulling out the last candy. "Make that one last, it'll be the last one until I go home again," she warned. Shippo popped back into his usual form, gleefully taking the candy and pulling off the wrapper.

As they set out yet again, Kagome still couldn't shake the feeling that Miroku was staring at her. The little hairs on the back of her neck were standing straight up, and Sango was still fuming. The two women and Kirara walked ahead of the others, hoping to get a few moments conversation without prying ears.

"Why is he staring at you?" Sango growled under her breath. She was surprised at her own reaction. After all, Kagome was like her sister, and she knew that Miroku didn't have any serious interest in her, plus they both knew that Kagome loved Inuyasha.

"I don't know! Maybe it has something to do with yesterday?" Kagome answered honestly. Sango sighed, releasing her clenched fists.

"Stupid houshi," Sango muttered. Kagome smirked, watching the blush travel up her friend's cheeks. Kagome could only imagine what was going through her head, as a male voice calling from behind stopped any farther questions.

"Hey Kagome, can I ask you something?" Miroku called out.

"Sure," she yelled back over her shoulder.

"Why did both Inuyasha AND Sesshomaru want to get in your pants so urgently yesterday?" Kagome's feet fumbled as her mouth failed to produce any sound, her mind reeling. Sango's mouth hung open, her expression conveying the two words that Kagome finally managed to spit out.

"Oh. Shit."

They were, of course, spoken moments after she had found herself laying on the ground, gripping her knee where she'd skinned it. Inuyasha ran up to her, bending down to look at the scrapes on her delicate skin. Miroku was close behind, but he was still looking to his companion for an explanation. Kagome sighed, resigning to her fate. She would just have to tell them the truth.

"Okay, look. There's this chemical called pheromones, which basically makes the member of the opposite sex attracted to you. Most being give off a type of pheromone or another, even humans, and in my time they found a way to extract the chemical and bottle it for use," she began, thinking it best to tell them about how it worked before telling them the whole story.

Miroku grinned. "Like when Sesshomaru said that Sango smelled like she was in heat?"

Sango turned beet red, but told this part herself. "Yes, the perfume Kagome gave me had pheromones in it."

Inuyasha looked confused. "But, I wasn't really attracted to those kind, well, I could smell them, and it did kind of make my mind numb, but it didn't do the things that happened yesterday."

Kagome took a deep breath, trying to explain something she really didn't know the answer for. "I think it was because those were human pheromones, meant to appeal to humans, it worked for the human side of you, but not the youkai side."

"So you used this chemical yesterday?" Miroku asked her, his hand twitching towards Sango slightly.

"Yes, but not the same one. Sango's were meant for humans, the ones I used yesterday was for..."

"There aren't any youkai in your era! How would they be able to make fair-ah-moans for youkai if there aren't any?" Inuyasha interrupted her.

Kagome shot a glare at him before continuing her train of though. "As I was saying, the ones I used yesterday were meant for DOGS. They were the chemicals given off by a bitch in heat!" she spat out.

Several things happened all at once. Miroku's hand stopped its progress towards Sango as he cracked up laughing. Sango tried to hide a smirk, and her horribly red face, behind one hand. Shippo, who didn't quite understand all that was being said snickered a little at the memory of the two inu-youkai fighting for his adoptive mother. Inuyasha, however, paled.

"That was because of some drug?" he choked out. Kagome nodded.

"But you see, it shouldn't have been like that. You're only supposed to use one or two drops, but the entire vial of the stuff spilled in my lap." Miroku fell to the ground, holding his sides that were now aching from his laughter.

"You... I..." Inuyasha choked, his eyes widening. "You did that, to win a bet?" Kagome looked at the ground, nodding slightly, suddenly feeling horribly ashamed of herself. "Is winning this stupid bet really that important to you?" his voice cracked. He didn't wait for a reply, he merely took off into the woods.

"Inuyasha! Wait!" Kagome called after him, getting to her feet. By now Miroku had the sense to stop laughing, and was shakily trying to stand.

"Let him cool off for a little while, Kagome," he smirked at her, then reached to embrace Sango. "My, I didn't know that you were so fond of me as to try to mess with my mind to get me to be with you," he flirted, his right hand slipping down from her back to her ass. Sango rolled her eyes as she knocked him over the head with Hiraikotsu.

It was starting to grow dark and Inuyasha still hadn't returned to the group. Kagome was getting worried about him, thinking that maybe he had been hurt or even worse, run into Kikyo.

She had just about convinced herself that it was time to go looking for him when she felt a pinch on her neck. Her hand instantly went up to slap at the annoyance, bringing back to her lap a flattened Myoga. "Where have you been?" she asked him.

"I was busy," he huffed, looking around the circle. "Where is master Inuyasha?"

"He ran off earlier," Sango told him, coming to sit beside Kagome to get away from Miroku's wandering hand.

Kagome lowered her eyes. "He's mad at me."

As usual, Myoga wouldn't let it alone and got the group to tell him exactly what had happened, though Kagome did leave out the taiyoukai's odd actions after he seemed to return to normal. Myoga was shocked to say the east, and he stared at Kagome incredulously.

"Do you know what you have done?" he choked out. The three humans stared at him with identical confused expressions. Shippo had fallen asleep shortly after dinner, and hadn't noticed the flea's arrival. "How could you insult Master Inuyasha like that!"

"Huh?" Kagome blurted. She really didn't know what the big deal was with it, other than yes, it had been a rather sneaky and conniving trick.

"I keep forgetting that you're human, and as such really don't have any idea as to youkai traditions, let along Inuyoukai traditions. As you know, Master Inuyasha has spent the past years being somewhat a leader of this little group, which he would think of as his pack, or family to put it in human terms. While you all probably didn't realize it, he had subconsciously been determining the status of each member of the pack, determining who is more dominant than the rest. Now, he had established that himself would be the most dominant male, and Kagome the most dominant female, even though Kagome herself outranked him because she could control him."

"So what would happen if say, Sango, could control Kagome, but Inuyasha could pull rank over Sango?" Miroku asked, intrigued.

"Well, that's where it can be complicated, but basically, it's a circle of dominance. But that's not where the transgression was. Inuyasha views his half brother as a threat to his pack, as being the 'leader' of his own pack, and as he has determined, stronger than himself. Now as a female in the pack is free to chose whoever she wishes within her pack, usually she choses the strongest male as to bear strong pups. It had been previously understood to himself that when the time came, it would he him that was the protector. When Kagome used that, stuff, on Sesshomaru, it effectively told Inuyasha that you thought him too weak to bear your pups, or to even protect the pack."

Kagome gasped. "I didn't know!"

Myoga folded his arms, looking up at the miko. "I know you didn't, and he knows that you didn't, actually, I'm not sure if Inuyasha himself knows the finer details of Inuyoukai society, but on an instinctual level, he does know that you somehow betrayed him. But, there is one more factor, if this fair-ah-moan stuff is really what you say it is."

They waited, but Myoga didn't offer anything further. Sango, growing impatient as her best friend grew increasingly worried, grabbed the flea by his balding head and threatened to squeeze if he didn't "spit it out."

"A hum, yes," he continued, brushing the wrinkles out of his clothing after Sango set him down. "You see, a bitch in heat doesn't necessarily offer herself to a potential mate, she tests him to see if he can be with her, but she will not willingly be with him until after she has given her blessing, nor will the scent of the heat go away until after she had been pupped or the heat has passed."

Kagome blanched. "So what you're saying is, Inuyasha thinks that me and Sesshomaru.."

Myoga nodded. Miroku lifted his hand to hide his smirk, and Sango's eyes nearly popped out of her skull.

"W... wouldn't he be able to smell if I'd done that with him?" Kagome stammered, trying to think of something logical.

"Well, you had spent time at his home, and he had, as you said, carried you for awhile, therefore his scent likely rubbed off on you during that time. Also, you said that he was keeping his distance from you, not really getting very close, so he had likely not been close enough to scent out if in face Sesshomaru's essence was present," Myoga explained. It didn't make Kagome feel better.

"What can I do?" she moaned, flopping down onto her bedding.

"You'll probably just have to wait until he calms down and explain it to him, that you didn't mean it like it seemed," Sango said, laying her hand on her friends head, trying to comfort her.

_Maybe. I didn't mean it, did I?_

Kagome sat up as a cold breeze chilled her. "Sango, can I borrow Kirara? I want to go home for a while, I have some tests coming up before winter, and I need to study," she looked desperately at her friend. Sango understood that Kagome was likely trying to go home to forget the whole deal, and maybe try to come up with a solution without the interferences of youkai.

"Of course," Sango smiled, looking to Kirara for her consent, which she mewed in response.

Kagome smiled down at the little neko, then proceeded to gather up her belongings and pack them for the journey home. Before she left, she looked to her friends, feeling a wave of relief wash over her at the thought of going home, but a small regret that she would be leaving them.

"Could you do me a favor?" They nodded. "When Inuyasha gets back, tell him I went home, and if he could please come to my side of the well, I need to talk to him."

They agreed, telling her that they would start their trek towards Kaede's village once Inuyasha, and Kirara, returned. Taking that as her signal, Kirara transformed, taking one last glance at Sango as Kagome crawled onto her back before taking off.

Kagome waited at home for a week. Her mind was not on her schooling; she kept wondering when Inuyasha would come to get her, if he ever would. _Maybe he doesn't want to see me anymore?_ she thought to herself sadly as she doodled in the margins of her notebook. She was thankful that winter break was coming up, but she had a lot of homework that needed to be completed before she could rush off to the Feudal Era.

Kagome's tried to focus on the lesson, but her mind kept betraying her best efforts and wandering back to what had happened, what had _almost_ happened, and what she had done. She kept telling herself that while she had decided to use the pheromones to attract Sesshomaru, she hadn't intended to actually have sex with him.

Her cheeks reddened as her mind wandered to deeper, darker places, places that elicited a response that was entirely unwelcome at the moment. Kagome's eyes glazed over as she stared at her notebook, trying to picture just what a certain taiyoukai would look like naked, and what other areas might have those tantalizing stripes.

Kagome suddenly realized just what she was thinking, and squeezed her eyes shut. When she re-opened them, a muscular male torso was sketched into her text, complete with darkened stripes surrounding the ribcage and stopping at a loosely tied hakama, the knots just begging to be released. She closed the book frantically, hoping that none of her classmates had noticed that her attention had been focused on that of a rather heavenly male body and not her history lesson.

Class had seemed to drag on forever, but by the time the bell finally rang, Kagome was confidant that while she hadn't been able to pay attention, she had all the assignments she had missed to take home with her. She hoped that she would be able to find the concentration to study while she was at home, but was expecting Inuyasha to be waiting. She could never concentrate with him staring at her back.

Unknown to Kagome, she had flown right over top of Inuyasha on her journey home. He flattened his ears to his silvery mane as he watched her leave, almost thinking that she had gone back to his brother before he noticed that she was heading in the direction of Kaede's village. Knowing that she was gone, he returned to the group soon afterwards. Sango immediately told him that Kagome wished to speak with him, but he refused to go.

It had been a long time, each day Inuyasha grew more irritable. He wasn't used to going so long without seeing the miko. He hadn't realized just how much he enjoyed her companionship until she was gone. He knew that he should go and see her, but Inuyasha honestly thought that she wouldn't want to see him, and that he might not be able to control himself around her.

He didn't know what to do.

While the humans and kit stayed with Kaede, Inuyasha spent his time in the forest, mostly sitting in the same tree he had been pinned to for fifty years. He felt close to Kagome there, almost like they were connected through time. He could almost see her sitting in the grass at the base of the tree in her own time, school books splayed out around her as she tried to finish some assignment. He smiled at the memories of being with her in the future, and in his own time.

He swore, jumping down from his perch in the mighty tree. He knew he had to go talk to her, but he didn't want to. He was hoping to avoid the talk they would have to have about what had happened, plus, the longer he kept putting off going to the future, the worse it seemed to make his delay. He knew that Kagome knew that they were only a couple days journey from Kaede's village, so he had no excuses for being so late.

He found himself walking the familiar path to the well. He hadn't consciously made the decision to go there, he just followed where his feet led him. He stopped when the familiar wood structure invaded his view. "Well shit," he muttered before leaping down, closing his eyes as the time warp enveloped him.


	8. Chapter 8: The Future Smells

_Kagome smiled as the gentle breeze drifted over her, bring the fresh smells of the Feudal Era. She closed her eyes, basking in the warm sunlight. Soon though, the light behind her eyelids faded. Confused, she opened her eyes, only to see blackness all around her. She jumped as a hand grabbed her shoulder._

Turning, her gaze met with glorious golden eyes. She smiled. "Inuyasha!" she went to throw her arms around him, but he was moving away. "Inu," she whispered, all the pain of her heart breaking behind her words. When he finally faded from sight, she collapsed on the ground, crying. "Why?" she sobbed into her palms. A tapping on her shoulder brought her back.

"Kagome-sama! These are for you!" Rin smiled at her, holding out a fistful of purple flowers. Kagome smiled, hugging the girl. She laughed and ran off behind her. Kagome stood to follow, but standing right behind her was Sesshomaru Her gaze traveled up his silk clad body, meeting his emotionless expression. Rin laughed, running over to the two. She grabbed each of their hands, pulling them together. When Kagome looked back up at the demon, he was smiling at her, a true smile that warmed his eyes.

He turned, wrapping his arm around her shoulders. He motioned for her to look another way, over to a lighted area of woods that hadn't been there before. Soul Collectors were weaving between the trees, following the dead priestess she so much resembled. Inuyasha stepped out of the woods towards her. He looked like he had been through hell, dirty and scarred. She went to him, wrapping her arms around him. Kagome watched from Sesshomaru's embrace, tears streaming down her face.

She had caused his depression, it was all her fault. But he would be happier with Kikyo. The vision faded, and Kagome turned. Rin was on the other side of Sesshomaru, smiling up at the both of them. It felt so right, like she belonged.

Yes, that was it. That was her home.

---

It was well into the night when Inuyasha snuck in through Kagome's bedroom window. She was sleeping so peacefully, but a range of emotions were crossing her features. He resisted the urge to reach down and brush the raven locks from her cheeks. Instead, he quietly pulled out the chair at her desk, straddled it, and rested his chin on the back. He studied her as she slept, watching her chest rise and fall underneath the blankets. Eventually, he himself fell into a light sleep.

As dawn approached he awoke. He decided to go wait outside until signs of life were seen inside the Higurashi residence, and promptly went outside to go sit in Goshinboku and think for awhile.

The morning passed uneventfully. Inuyasha, being a chicken, hadn't shown himself inside, instead deciding to wait out in the tree until Kagome came outside so he could catch her alone. It was a long wait, but he had a lot to sort through in his mind.

As midday approached, a new, and very familiar scent reached him, coming from the well. "No fucking way!" Inuyasha growled, jumping down from the great tree and going to investigate for himself.

----

The previous night, Sesshomaru had finally laid his plan into action. He had gone out and found a rather weak youkai that somehow managed to come into possession of a single shard of the Shikon no Tama. It would be a good reason for him to seek the miko, though it wasn't really a crucial part of his scheme. Immediately he set off for the village that his spies had informed him the troupe seemed to call home when they weren't out fighting.

It would be a long journey, and he wouldn't get there until the next morning, but it would be worth it. After all, the taiyoukai was getting bored, he decided that he needed to amuse himself, and what better way than to get under his half brother's skin?

The journey had gone smoothly, just as he had expected. Rin and Jaken were left at his home so he had nothing to slow him down. He smirked as the village came into sight, but was confused when he couldn't scent the hanyou or the miko. Instead he sought out the slayer and monk, who were fairly simple to find. The sound of her palm connecting with his face could be heard from quite a ways off.

"Where is the miko?" he asked, stopping before them. They had both sensed him coming and were standing, ready to try to defend the village if need be. When he asked about Kagome, however, they looked confused. Sesshomaru growled. "This is her home village, she travels with you, where is she?"

Miroku smirked, waving his arms around and wiggling his fingers, "nobody knows!" he said, attempting to be humorous. Sango shook her head, looking exasperated. Sesshomaru, far from amused, glared at the monk. The winds shifted and he caught the scent of the hanyou off to the forest, and headed in that direction. Before leaving, he turned back to the monk. "If I find you were lying about your knowledge of the miko's whereabouts, I will personally kill you."

Miroku gulped, watching him walk off into the woods. Sango turned to him. "You're in deep shit houshi," she smirked. Moments later, she was slapping him across the face.

"Please Sango, allow me the pleasure of your bottom, since I am apparently at the top of Sesshomaru's list," he smiled through the pain. She scowled at him.

"That's your own fault, so leave my ass out of it."

Meanwhile, Sesshomaru had followed Inuyasha's scent to where it was strongest; the tree he had been pinned to for so many years, but the hanyou wasn't there. Sesshomaru followed his scent trail, leading him straight to the old well. Puzzled at to why the scent suddenly stopped there, he wandered around for awhile, trying to pick it back up, but it always led him back to the well. Looking down into the darkness, he shrugged and jumped in.

The blue light surrounded him halfway down, much to Sesshomaru's surprise. "How strange," he muttered, looking around him. Not long after, the light faded and he touched down at the bottom. "Very strange indeed." He jumped out, but was surprised to see that instead of the grass and trees, wooden walls surrounded him. Cautiously, he moved up the steps, peeking through the slats in the door. Odd construction was all around, the air was stuffier, full of what he could only describe as stink.

Unfortunately, he could also see his half brother leaping out of a certain tree and rushing towards him. Placing his hand on Tokijin, he slid the door open and stepped outside into the bright sunlight.

---

"Sesshomaru you asshole!" Inuyasha's voice could be heard from inside. Kagome jumped up from the breakfast table and raced outside, her mother and brother at her heels. Sure enough, standing in the middle of their courtyard, Inuyasha was glaring daggers at his brother, Tessaiga drawn and ready to fight. Sesshomaru looked around the grounds, spotted her, and was standing in front of her in a flash.

"Uh, Sesshomaru?" she stared, her mouth agape. Her mother gasped. "What on earth are you doing here?"

"Where is this place?" he asked her, completely ignoring her question. "It stinks. The construction is odd. And why did I have to jump in a well to get here?"

"Hey asshole! I was talking to you!" Inuyasha fumed, stomping over to stand between him and Kagome. Sesshomaru narrowed his gaze at the hanyou, shoving him aside and looking back to Kagome for answers.

"Um," she paused, trying to think. "This isn't your era, this is five hundred years in the future," she winced, hoping that the truth would be easier than making something up. "That's why the buildings look odd, and it stinks. The well is kind of a time warp thing. But how did you get through the well?"

"Why don't we all go inside?" Kagome's mom smiled, holding the door open.

"Mom, do you really think that Ojiichan will really want a full blooded demon in our house?" Kagome groaned. Sesshomaru smirked to himself and stepped inside, much to the shock of Kagome and the ire of Inuyasha. "Well, it's not like he's going to degrade himself and actually share a meal with us," Kagome muttered.

"Hi, my name's Souta!" a voice sounded ahead of them. Kagome slapped her palm to her forehead, rushing to grab her brother.

"Forgive him, he's just a kid," Kagome worriedly said to the taiyoukai.

"Are those tattoos? Why stripes?" Souta interjected, ignoring his sister's worry. Sesshomaru turned and knelt down to his level.

"I was born with them." He allowed a few moments for the boy to examine his features, then stood and continued on his way. Unfortunately, the living room was ahead of the dining area, and the television was on. "What is that?" he stared.

"That's the television," Souta grinned, glad to show around another being who had never experienced modern conveniences. "It's got lots of neat stuff on it, but the coolest thing is video games!" Kagome groaned, but Sesshomaru ventured in to take a closer look.

Souta picked up the two controllers, handing one to the demon lord. He flipped the system on and sat down to play. Kagome stood at the door, smiling in wonder at the fearsome lord of the west sitting in her home playing video games with her little brother. She just hoped that her brother had the good sense to let him win!

After awhile of listening to Souta explain how it worked, what buttons to press to make the character do what, Kagome was satisfied that everything would be okay and headed back to finish her breakfast. Inuyasha was sitting at the table pouting into his bowl of ramen her mother had made for him. "What does that baka think he's doing here? How the hell did he get here anyways?" he groaned.

"Oh, I imagine he's playing video games with my brother, and he came here through the well," Kagome grinned back. Inuyasha stuck his tongue out at her and turned back to his food. "What I'm wondering is when YOU got here."

Inuyasha choked. "Earlier this morning," he whimpered, trying to avoid the glare he knew Kagome would be sending his way. When he finally looked back, she was sitting calmly, but he could almost see the anger fuming off her.

"So you knew that for the past week I've wanted you to come here and talk to me, but you avoided it this long. And when you finally do show up, you don't even come inside. Great, just, fine." She stood, thanked her mother for the meal, and stomped upstairs.


End file.
